Sex in an age of mechanical reproduction.

Abstract

In a provocative Essay on Science and Society, Carl Djerassi --who launched the sexual revolution of the 1960s when he synthesized the first steroid oral contraceptive--discusses how the start of the new millennium will be the era of conception (at least in the affluent countries of the world). This contrasts with the last 50 years of the 20th century, which, thanks to the Pill, were the decades of contraception. Djerassi discusses the ethical and social implications of the continued improvements to assisted reproductive technologies (ART), which are enabling older women to conceive and bear children even beyond menopause.