Some may see this as an anniversary of a great event, while others see it as the beginning of an ethical mess and mishmash. On this date in 1978, the first child was born, conceived from the use of in-vitro fertilization. Her name was Louise Joy Brown, who made her debut in England, and today turns 29.

Since that time, many parents have been able to create families with this method, but the use of IVF has been an ethical nightmare as well. One of the biggest dilemmas are the hundreds of thousands of frozen pre-embryos, that are literally sitting on ice, waiting to be either implanted in a uterus, dumped in the trash, or used for medical science. Or, as the case has been for many, sit patiently in their little petri dish until eternity. Some of these frozen embryos are more than 10 years old, and many are no longer viable. Their “mom and dad” often don’t know what to do with them. They may not wish to have any more children, but they don’t want to put their embryo up for adoption, and they feel that tossing it out is like having an abortion.

Anyway, happy birthday Louise.