The Scientist and the Baby
An operation on the foetus inside the womb is now a routine procedure at a London teaching hospital. In America a doctor has gone a step further: he has taken a foetus out of the womb, operated, and returned it safely.
Despite the desire for natural childbirth, sophisticated medical intervention will be needed increasingly if more babies at risk are to be bom safely and without handicap. But in obstetrics, as in every branch of medicine, medical research is opening up possibilities of treatment and care that the Health Service will not be able to afford. So how should we allocate resources? How much is each baby worth?
Narrator PAUL VAUGHAN
Film editor STEPHEN bottomori Horizon editor GRAHAM MASSEY
Producer CHRISTOPHER LA FONTAINE