William Saletan at Slate writes about the case of a 70 year old woman (yes, you read that right) who recently gave birth thanks to assistive reproductive technology. He concludes with the following observation:

Maybe, as we extend our reach in this area, we'll learn to control it. We'll stop seeing infertility as a binary struggle between cultural fatalism and scientific treatment. We'll see an ecology of procreation and parenting, with some boundaries worth respecting, even when we know how to defeat them.

I like thephrase "ecology of procreation and parenting." We've already seen the risks involved in thinking the natural world is something that can be completely subjected to human control and manipulation. The risks may be even greater when we begin to apply those techniques to human beings. Something to think about.