As the British Medical Association meets for its annual conference, the first of two special programmes about the ethical problems which face today's medical profession and the rest of us.
Since 1967 the number of babies available for adoption has halved. Thousands of couples, desperate for a baby of their own, have found an alternative. Artificial insemination using the sperm of an anonymous donor has provided an answer, but the complex legal, ethical and moral issues that the practice raises are a long way from being solved.
Tonight's programme reports on the dilemmas facing doctors and parents who have chosen AID. Introduced by Eric Robson
BBC Manchester
If you want to take part in the Brass Tacks debate, either phone a participating BBC radio station immediately after the programme (details on the air and on Local Radio pages of Radio Times) or write, to Return Call, Brass Tacks, [address removed]