In Vitro Fertilization has been in the news pretty regularly as of late. Off the dome, some knobs in the media accused Brangelina of having IVF, there was a lawsuit regarding overzealous use of IVF that was just settled in Australia, and we heard something about reproductive tourism becoming trendy. So, what's this whole business of using test tubes to make babies began 30 years ago. The first IVF baby, that the government acknowledges, was Louise Brown. No-longer-young Louise Brown done turned 30 the other day, according to the Los Angeles Times via the Houston Chronicle. The Chronic, as the kids call it, also provides some context to the whole IVF process from 30 years ago. Evidently, test tube babies were as much a threat to our way of life as Sputnik (when it came out, not in the 70's, we'd conquered the moon by then).

So, happy 30th and aw geez, Louise. Congratulations on having a baby of your own the old fashioned way. Your birth ushered in a whole new era of making people's baby dreams come true. Orphans are still basically hosed, though.