The birth of Louise Brown in Britain in 1978, and later of the French baby Amandine, heralded a new era of hope for thousands of childless couples around the world. But could anyone then have imagined that twenty years later scientists would be capable of examining embryos in a test tube to detect carriers of genetic diseases? Or that human ovules would be offered through the Internet? Or that it would be feasible to clone human beings? Advances made over the past few years in the field of medically-assisted procreation will have far-reaching results, raising major issues concerning the family, sexuality and filiation. The consequences will be at least as significant as were those arising from the control of fertility, following the development of effective means of contraception in the 1960s. Besides reviewing the latest technical developments, the articles included in this volume raise numerous psychological, social and ethical issues. They also address the questions that are most frequently debated in the public arena. The contributors to this volume, representing a variety of fields of expertise, are among the most highly respected specialists working in France today. They include: V. Blanchet, M.L. Briard, M. Bydlowski, D. Cornet, S. Faure-Pragier, M. Flis-Trèves, R. Frydman, F. Héritier, A. Kahn, B. Koeppel, M.N. Créac'h Le Mer, D. Mehl, F. Molenat, A. Munnich, E. Pisier, L. Saranti, F. Stasse, S. Stoléru.