<br ><br >PREFACE TO THE 1989<br >EDITION<br >In 1984， new reproductive technologies were just beginning<br >to become part of the public discussion. In deciding to put<br >together Test-Tube Women we wanted to take a look at new<br >technologies such in-vitro fertilization， embryo flushing and<br >transfer. We also wanted to investigate technologies that<br >were not really that new， such as artificial insemination，<br >and further developments of contraceptives. Sex selection<br >and the use of amniocentesis in the so-called Third World <br >was a further area of concern to us. The scientists devel-<br >oping these technologies told us that women should be<br >grateful for their inventions and that they had been<br >developed because women wanted them. They also said the<br >technologies would open up new choices for motherhood and<br >they would help infertile women.<br > We were sceptical. Although we could not know at the<br >time what the specific developments would be， nor how<br >quickly the technologies would proliferate， affecting an<br >increasing number of women all over the world， neverthe-<br >less， two crucial pieces of information were already obvious.<br >The first was that a white medical and scientific establish-<br >ment is in control of the technologies and that there is<br >a long history of exploitation of women by these groups，<br >specifically in relation to reproduction. Women of color， poor<br >women， lesbians， disabled women， elderly and young<br >women have all been experimented on and used by the<br > technodocs in their human trials and applications of<br >contraceptives such as the Pill， Depo-Provera and IUDs， in<br >particular the Dalkon shield. With these new technologies<br >it seemed to be the turn of mainly white and middle-class<br >women to serve as experimental guinea pigs.<br >xi<br ><br >