Miracle girl, whom society accused of lacking a soul (10 photos)

For specialists, it has become a symbol of victory, for believers - evil that violates the laws of God. And for the parents of the beloved and long-awaited daughter.





This family was formed like millions of young families before this. Residents of Britain Peter and Leslie fell in love with each other, legalized relationship. And then they began to think about the baby.



Edwards and Steptoe

But all attempts to conceive were unsuccessful. And there are 9 of them over the years, the Browns have undertaken countless efforts. When Leslie diagnosed with infertility, she sobbed, fell into hysterics and asked husband to find a normal woman, while there is still time.

But as a result of repeated visits to medical institutions, the couple met gynecologist Patrick Steptoe and Professor Robert Edwards. The doctors were just doing development of artificial insemination techniques. And offered the Browns try yourself as a test subject.

Happened!



Louise Brown

True, the doctors did not tell the spouses the whole truth. Before them already More than 50 IVF attempts have been made. And all but one pregnancy, which turned out to be ectopic, were unsuccessful.

In the late autumn of 1977, the spouses took biological material, connected the egg with the sperm in the laboratory and implanted an embryo in a woman. He got accustomed without complications and the first time.



With parents

After the information was leaked to the press, journalists couple attacked. To avoid complications, Leslie was registered under a different name. In an atmosphere of strict secrecy, they also had to take birth. When the doctors decided that it was time to do a cesarean, they told the man defiantly leave the building under the watchful eye of the cameras, and then back unnoticed.

On the night of July 25, 1978, a healthy girl was born, whose happy parents named Louise Joy. symbolic because joy in translation means "joy".



Despite the round-the-clock security that was assigned to mother, information about the appearance of a miracle girl still got into the media. Opinion society was divided into two approximately equal parts. Some sent to the Browns greeting cards, while others addressed curses for trampling God's laws. After all, a test-tube child is contrary to the plan of the highest mind. Somehow, a package even arrived in the mail, inside of which lay a broken test tube and a craft in the form of an embryo, filled with fake blood.

Haters more or less calmed down only when Cardinal Albino Luciani publicly declared that the child has the right to quiet privacy, because for his parents it was the only way to have children.

There are many of us, take it into account!



Louise grew up as an ordinary girl and was no different from peers. The only difference was the close attention to her life. The baby faced negativity at school, when her parents could no longer always be around. There were still people who did not understand the processes IVF, ridiculed the schoolgirl and accused her of the fact that Louise was almost robot assembled in the laboratory.

She tried to hold on and not react to the attacks. Tem moreover, by that time more than 30 children had already been born, conceived in test tube. The girl's sister became such a fortieth child.



From an interview with Louise:

Yes, Bob Edwards and Patrick Steptoe, as well as mine mom and dad were criticized when I was born, but sometimes it takes time to acquire knowledge and trust. Today I think that the vast majority of people consider IVF a completely normal process if they do not have the opportunity to start child in a natural way. There were huge debates about morality, behind the creation of man in this way, and the fear that it can lead to all kinds of health problems, but that was speculation. IVF success so far is beyond doubt, and its impact on families will never cannot be expressed in words. Appeared all over the world hope, and that's the most wonderful thing to see.



This year the woman andturns 45 years old. Louise is married. She conceived two sons, endured and gave birth to ordinary natural way. The professional activity of the “girl from test tubes”: for a long time she worked as a nanny.



Interest in women is still high. But she's used to publicity and calmly react to it. The only thing Louise regrets that Edwards and Steptoe received too late recognition of their merit. So, Edwards received the Nobel Prize for his contribution to the development of artificial insemination in 2010. That is, 32 years after, so to speak, the successful completion of the first experiment. And at that moment was already too old and sick to receive the award on his own.

Now there are millions of such people all over the world. And it can't be ignore. But the moral question behind this way of being born man, continues to be open and topical.



Do you think IVF is a conventional medical procedure? procedure and a chance to have a child of your own? Or not worth it to interfere with the design of nature, since this is fraught not only theological disputes, but also the health problems of such children?