Most assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are used to treat infertility. Others are used when there are no fertility problems. Embryo screening or pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, for example, is used in order to prevent the births of children with specific genetic characteristics.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) refers to assisted reproduction procedures in which sperm and eggs are joined outside a woman's body. Women undergoing IVF are given hormonal drugs to promote the development of multiple eggs, which are retrieved with a minor surgical procedure. The eggs are mixed with sperm; some of those that fertilize are then transferred to the woman's uterus.

IVF has been in use since 1978 and has resulted in about a million pregnancies worldwide. A number of IVF-related techniques (for example, intracytoplasmic sperm injection) and practices (for example, surrogacy) have been introduced since then. In the United States alone, the assisted reproduction business is estimated to create over $4 billion in revenues a year.