Pt. 1. Introduction -- pt. 2. Infertility -- pt. 3. Indications of in vitro fertalisation -- pt. 4. Counselling in the process of decision-making -- pt. 5. IVF-treatment : chances and risks -- pt. 6. Human embryos in IVF -- pt. 7. The status of human embryos -- pt. 8. Connecting lines between IVF and preimplantation diagnosis and gene therapy -- pt. 9. A fundamental approach : technicalisation of reproduction.