Originally published in 1984, when new reproductive technologies were just beginning to become part of the public discussion, this edition was published with a new preface in 1989. The Editors wanted to look carefully at how much real choice reproductive technologies offered to women. Genetic engineering, sperm banks, test tube fertilization, sex selection, surrogate mothering, experimentation in the so called ‘third world’, increased technological intervention in childbirth – were we taking pregnancy and the birth process out of the dark ages or into a terrifying ‘brave new world’?

They ask who controls it? Who benefits? The technological machine grinds on, in headline-grabbing leaps or in quiet developments in research laboratories: but what are the implications for women worldwide? Still a huge industry today, this reissue can be read in its historical context.