From the bottom of a long glass tube

A year after I was born, Zager and Evans had a US number one with their dystopic vision of the future: In the year 2525 (written by Rick Evans apparently).

One of the lines reads:

In the year 6565,
Won't need no husband, won't need no wife,
You'll pick your son, pick your daughter too, 
From the bottom of a long glass tube

One has to congratulate Evans for his prescience in  1964.  The first test-tube baby (i.e. born through IVF) wasn't born until 1978.

And listening to that song, all my life, I didn't think it would particularly speak to me (though I like it as a song).

But technology is a wonderful thing and I sometimes wonder if we should continue to allow biology to cock things up, or take advantage of the abilities now to screen for genetic defects, Down's Syndrome and so on, and avoid a lot of suffering on the way.

Don't leave children to chance (or alcoholic fumbles and mistakes), I have a vision of a future where there will be no child abuse, no child neglect, no unwanted babies.  Preventable diseases will be avoided through screening to ensure those genes do not reproduce.

In short, my idea is to tie the tubes of all babies (of both sexes) at birth.  Then, at a suitable age (21?) people (they don't have to be couples) would need to pass an exam and undergo therapy to ensure they are neither child abusers nor drug users; that they understand what healthy food is and the need to engage with a child; that a child is for life, not just for Christmas.

On passing the exam, they have a small procedure to 'untie' the tubes. If they want to go the natural route of procreating, fine... but why not do a GATTACA and ensure that every baby is given the best possible start in life by avoiding degenerative diseases, cancers and other genetic-based problems?

Of course this will never come to pass, and children will continue to grow up in abusive households. Children will continue to die from neglect. And in some cases, children will continue to be used as sex slaves.

It is a disgusting world we have - and yet the wish to leave a genetic legacy is strong. The will to leave the world in a better state for one's existence than without it is what drives many people.

And, regardless of knowing that this world has many dangers, many horrible examples of human's inhumanity, we, that is my partner and I, have decided to undergo IVF and try and have our own baby.

Thirteen weeks have passed, we're entering the second trimetester, and everything is fine!

Oh joy of joys!

The world is a wonderful place. Technology is a wonderful thing.  Thank Darwin (or should that be Steptoe and Edwards?) for the opportunities we have to bring a life into the world.

In short, we're going to have a little sealtree!

The future isn't dystopic...it's going to be wonderful.