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The Baby Business: How Markets Are Changing the Future of Birth

The speed at which new knowledge is being generated in science and medicine is nothing short of astounding. Should society be constrained in any way in the use of this accelerating knowledge, or should the pursuit of scientific progress and capabilities transcend the bounds of regulation, law, and politics? Where the technology is “biological,” advancement can open the door to a host of socially valuable benefits. Some warn, however, that biotechnological innovation can pave the way for interventions that launch medical science into the realm of God, with frightening consequences. Even if such warnings are somewhat hyperbolic, advancing science and technology can profoundly impact our conception of human nature and our social and political institutions. Surely we cannot afford to rush headlong into uncharted territory without seriously considering the consequences. Science in its purest form is advanced by mankind’s striving to gain knowledge and find solutions to the countless questions that confront us every day in our boundless universe. Put most simply, scientific inquiry involves thinking of ways to explain questions raised by natural phenomena. The development of the process of scientific inquiry—which became generally accepted as recently as the late 16th to early 17th centuries—is among the most fundamental and important achievements in human history. Our elementary school introduction to “the scientific method” has changed very little since its beginnings hundreds of years ago. A scientific question is posed. All plausible hypotheses are considered, and then each is tested by an appropriate experiment. Taking nothing for granted and requiring empirical proof of all our scientific beliefs lets us build with greater confidence, albeit very slowly,