Joy: The Birth of IVF gives us a nuanced and moving portrayal of the early stages of IVF development—a story bioethicist and ISCAST Fellow, Gareth Jones, has followed closely for years. But how well does the film reflect the many ethical concerns that persist to this day?
The story of IVF (in vitro fertilisation) is one I’ve followed closely since the early 1970s. My first article about Christian approaches to assisted reproductive technologies appeared in 1974, four years before the 1978 birth of the first IVF baby, Louise Brown. Watching Joy decades later offers a fascinating insight into this story and an opportunity to reflect on the ethical and theological concerns that surrounded it.
The film centres around the story of Jean Purdy (played by Thomasin McKenzie), a nurse and research assistant, and her role alongside physiologist Robert Edwards (James Norton) and obstetrician Patrick Steptoe (Bill Nighy) in bringing IVF to fruition. She begins working with Robert and Patrick in reproductive health research, motivated partly by her own struggles with endometriosis and knowledge that she would never be able to have children. However, as the public grows more aware of their research, the trio face opposition on all fronts: from the medical and scientific communities, the church, and the media.
