--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nobody knew in advance that in vitro…" description: "\"Nobody knew in advance that in vitro fertilization would be, by and large, safe.\" — Leon Kass" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/leon-kass-12927_advance_nobody-knew-in-advance-that-in-vitro-fer_2095843.jpg" --- # Nobody knew in advance that in vitro fertilization would… ![“Nobody knew in advance that in vitro fertilization would be, by and large, safe.” quote by Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/leon-kass-12927_advance_nobody-knew-in-advance-that-in-vitro-fer_2095843.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/leon-kass-12927_advance_nobody-knew-in-advance-that-in-vitro-fer_2095843.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/leon-kass-12927_advance_nobody-knew-in-advance-that-in-vitro-fer_2095843.jpg) > “Nobody knew in advance that in vitro fertilization would be, by and large, safe.” [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early IVF was unexpectedly safe, contrary to initial fears. **In simple terms:** IVF turned out safer than expected. Key Takeaway Recognize that new technologies may exceed expectations. Themes science risk innovation Mood cautious inquisitive Type analytical thoughtful When to use this quote - medical research - policy making - public education Key Concepts bioethics technology adoption public perception Questions to Reflect On - How should societies evaluate emerging medical tech? - What safeguards are needed? A Different Perspective Safety claims can be premature; overconfidence may arise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fertilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fertilization/) ## Related quotes > [My first ideas of human in vitro fertilization (IVF) arose with my Ph.D. in Edinburgh University in the early 1950s. Supervised by Alan Beatty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-edwards/my-first-ideas-of-human-in-vitro-fertilization-ivf-arose-with-my-ph-d/) [Robert Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-edwards/) > [I am the celebrity spokesperson for Resolve, the national infertility association, and my three precious children were born through infertility procedures. I struggled for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-margolis/i-am-the-celebrity-spokesperson-for-resolve-the-national-infertility/) [Cindy Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-margolis/) > [ It \[an ethical problem with in vitro fertilization\] depends on whether you're talking ethics from the standpoint of some religious denomination or from just… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-steptoe/it-an-ethical-problem-with-in-vitro-fertilization-depends-on-whether/) Patrick Steptoe > [If you are in support of in vitro fertilization, then you have to recognize that human embryos are being created in excess of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/if-you-are-in-support-of-in-vitro-fertilization-then-you-have-to/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [We should protect life but I'm not interested in anything that restricts birth control. And I'm not interested in anything that restricts in vitro…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/we-should-protect-life-but-i-m-not-interested-in-anything-that/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [“Is in vitro fertilization where you have all the fun in a glass house?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-steven-bottomley/is-in-vitro-fertilization-where-you-have-all-the-fun-in-a-glass-house/) [Dr Steven Bottomley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-steven-bottomley/) > [ \[Gilda Radner\] was in the in vitro fertilization program, and it nearly, nearly drove us apart, too. She wanted that baby, so badly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/gilda-radner-was-in-the-in-vitro-fertilization-program-and-it-nearly/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [Each year thousands of embryos, no bigger than the head of a pin, are created in the process of in vitro fertilization, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-capps/each-year-thousands-of-embryos-no-bigger-than-the-head-of-a-pin-are/) [Lois Capps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-capps/) > [I knew well in advance even before I stepped on the stage for my first event that I was going to lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-khorkina/i-knew-well-in-advance-even-before-i-stepped-on-the-stage-for-my/) Svetlana Khorkina > [We are the party of hard working parents and families and we want to give you and your children the opportunities to thrive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-britt/we-are-the-party-of-hard-working-parents-and-families-and-we-want-to/) [Katie Britt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-britt/) > [One-third of all female infertility is the result of blocked fallopian tubes. If fertilization could be done in the lab and then the fertilized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-d-watson/one-third-of-all-female-infertility-is-the-result-of-blocked/) [James D. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-d-watson/) > [Fundamentalism is rigorously and systematically used to indoctrinate and subjugate young minds. It is a contraceptive designed to prevent intellectual fertilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/fundamentalism-is-rigorously-and-systematically-used-to-indoctrinate/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Like the 'test tube babies' born of in vitro fertilization, cloned children need not be identifiable, much less freaks or outcasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/like-the-test-tube-babies-born-of-in-vitro-fertilization-cloned/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [Although life is a continuous process, fertilization is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human organism is thereby formed……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronan-o-rahilly/although-life-is-a-continuous-process-fertilization-is-a-critical/) Ronan O'Rahilly > [“A word is not filling in the gaps, but the fertilization of silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/a-word-is-not-filling-in-the-gaps-but-the-fertilization-of-silence/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) ## More by Leon Kass > [Limits have to be set on how far one can simply use the... cleverness that we have to make changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/limits-have-to-be-set-on-how-far-one-can-simply-use-the-cleverness/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [The so-called right to reproduce is not an unlimited right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/the-so-called-right-to-reproduce-is-not-an-unlimited-right/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [I don't believe that efforts to prohibit only so-called reproductive cloning can be successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/i-don-t-believe-that-efforts-to-prohibit-only-so-called-reproductive/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [Many other countries have already banned human cloning, and there are efforts at the UN to make such a ban universal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/many-other-countries-have-already-banned-human-cloning-and-there-are/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [We may simply not be wise enough to do some of the kinds of engineering things that people are talking about doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/we-may-simply-not-be-wise-enough-to-do-some-of-the-kinds-of/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [The technical is not just the machinery. The technical is a disposition to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/the-technical-is-not-just-the-machinery-the-technical-is-a/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [I've been opposed to human cloning from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/i-ve-been-opposed-to-human-cloning-from-the-very-beginning/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [Genetics is crude, but neuroscience goes directly to work on the brain, and the mind follows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/genetics-is-crude-but-neuroscience-goes-directly-to-work-on-the-brain/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [Cloning represents a very clear, powerful, and immediate example in which we are in danger of turning procreation into manufacture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/cloning-represents-a-very-clear-powerful-and-immediate-example-in/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [Human life without death would be something other than human; consciousness of mortality gives rise to out deepest longings and greatest accomplishments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/human-life-without-death-would-be-something-other-than-human/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [If you have easy self-contentment, you might have a very, very cheap source of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/if-you-have-easy-self-contentment-you-might-have-a-very-very-cheap/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [It's a short step from the belief that every child should be wanted to the belief that a child exists to satisfy our wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/it-s-a-short-step-from-the-belief-that-every-child-should-be-wanted/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [My job is to provide the president with the richest possible consideration, so that he knows what is at stake in whatever decision he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/my-job-is-to-provide-the-president-with-the-richest-possible/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [In cloning, in contrast, reproduction is asexual - the cloned child is the product not of two but of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/in-cloning-in-contrast-reproduction-is-asexual-the-cloned-child-is/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [There were certain questions about the foundations of morals that advances in science all threaten to make more complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/there-were-certain-questions-about-the-foundations-of-morals-that/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) [Explore all 52 Leon Kass quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) ## More Advance quotes > [I don't think we should tell them what we're going to do in advance. Let them think. Worry. Wonder. Uncertainty is the most chilling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-a-walters/i-don-t-think-we-should-tell-them-what-we-re-going-to-do-in-advance/) [Vernon A. Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-a-walters/) > [It's more common than not that bipolar illness will start in the teens. One of the reasons I spend a lot of time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/it-s-more-common-than-not-that-bipolar-illness-will-start-in-the/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [The advance of science spares us from irrational dread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-advance-of-science-spares-us-from-irrational-dread/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [Some companies out there quote a start of production that is substantially in advance of when customers get their cars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/some-companies-out-there-quote-a-start-of-production-that-is/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [My priority in life is my whanau, followed by my work as an artist, which has blessed me with the ability to provide opportunities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/my-priority-in-life-is-my-whanau-followed-by-my-work-as-an-artist/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) > [Others have said it before me. If you don't have a seat at the table, you're probably on the menu. And so it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/others-have-said-it-before-me-if-you-don-t-have-a-seat-at-the-table/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [What I have in advance are people I want to write about and a problem or problems that I see those people encountering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/what-i-have-in-advance-are-people-i-want-to-write-about-and-a-problem/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [Error is discipline through which we advance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/error-is-discipline-through-which-we-advance/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [I think it's important to earn your fan base and not just try to immediately advance to the top. If you ride to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/i-think-it-s-important-to-earn-your-fan-base-and-not-just-try-to/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [The Chinese public is deeply nationalist, which matters to China's unelected political leadership as much as U.S. nationalism does to American politicians. As China…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/the-chinese-public-is-deeply-nationalist-which-matters-to-china-s/) [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) > [Some might complain that nuclear disarmament is little more than a dream. But that ignores the very tangible benefits disarmament would bring for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/some-might-complain-that-nuclear-disarmament-is-little-more-than-a/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) > [Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/let-our-advance-worrying-become-advance-thinking-and-planning/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Let us not bankrupt our todays by paying interest on the regrets of yesterday and by borrowing in advance the troubles of tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-w-sockman-2/let-us-not-bankrupt-our-todays-by-paying-interest-on-the-regrets-of/) Ralph W. Sockman > [In times of failing health, don't hopelessly pray for the intervention of a mythical god; wish hopefully for an advance in medical science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-fowler/in-times-of-failing-health-don-t-hopelessly-pray-for-the-intervention/) [Steve Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-fowler/) > [Clearly, unless thinking beings inevitably wipe themselves out soon after developing technology, extraterrestrial intelligence could often be millions or billions of years in advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/clearly-unless-thinking-beings-inevitably-wipe-themselves-out-soon/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) Browse all 263 Advance quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nobody knew in advance that in vitro fertilization would be, by and large, safe.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leon Kass" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/nobody-knew-in-advance-that-in-vitro-fertilization-would-be-by-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Advance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/nobody-knew-in-advance-that-in-vitro-fertilization-would-be-by-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/leon-kass-12927_advance_nobody-knew-in-advance-that-in-vitro-fer_2095843.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/leon-kass-12927_advance_nobody-knew-in-advance-that-in-vitro-fer_2095843.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/leon-kass-12927_advance_nobody-knew-in-advance-that-in-vitro-fer_2095843.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nobody knew in advance that in vitro fertilization would be, by and large, safe.” — Leon Kass", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Leon Kass", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nobody knew in advance that in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/nobody-knew-in-advance-that-in-vitro-fertilization-would-be-by-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/nobody-knew-in-advance-that-in-vitro-fertilization-would-be-by-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```