Netflix subscribers may have already seen trailers for the streamer’s newest upcoming film, Joy. The movie, which serves as the latest project from Sex Education director Ben Taylor, offers a comprehensive look into the very first so-called “test tube baby” born through the process of in vitro fertilization. The process, commonly known as IVF, has become a hot button issue in global politics, and even served as a major talking point during the most recent U.S. presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Since the film is poised to tackle such a fascinating and technical story, many fans have been quick to ask if Joy is based on true events. We can confirm that Joy is in fact a true story biopic, which will follow the science, engineering and surgeries required to bring in vitro fertilization to fruition.
Specifically, the movie centers on the brilliant minds who worked to make IVF a reality, as well as the life and childhood of the first baby born through the complicated process. While the film will surely enlighten many audience members to the fascinating story behind IVF’s discovery, it also takes plenty of liberties with the story in order to fit it into a compelling narrative. Those interested in understanding the true story should be sure to read ahead as we unpack the brilliant minds behind the scientific breakthrough, as well as the timeline of events that made IVF possible. Those looking to watch Joy fully free of spoilers are welcome to bookmark this page and return later, though the film should be just as enjoyable – perhaps even more so, after knowing the actual facts.
Who Are the Key Players in ‘Joy’?
As stated, Joy follows the birth of the very first in vitro baby, whose name is Louise Joy Brown. She was born in 1978, and is still alive and well to this day. Despite her status as a scientific anomaly for her time, Brown has grown up under fairly normal circumstances, and even has children of her own. Over ten years before her birth, Louise’s mother, Lesley, struggled to conceive due to a blocked fallopian tube. During most of human history, such an ailment would mean a permanent inability to become pregnant, though Lesley and her husband John agreed to undergo the controversial and at-the-time unconfirmed process of IVF. Four years after their first success with the procedure, the couple conceived another child through IVF, named Natalie.
Before they were chosen for the trial, a collective of researchers had been working for years to perfect the science behind the process, with three particular names leading the project. The three brilliant minds most often credited for the scientific breakthrough are English obstetrician and gynecologist Patrick Steptoe, embryologist Jean Purdy and physiologist Robert Edwards. Their work became the blueprint for all future genetic conception, and even took home a Nobel Prize in Medicine decades after IVF became a globally-recognized procedure. Despite the reverence held for the researchers today, the team fought an uphill battle while developing in vitro science, as many members of the public found the process to be unnatural. This is exhibited by protestors decrying Steptoe and Purdy “Frankenstein” throughout the Joy trailer, with some powerful men even callously suggesting that the number of women afflicted with infertility is negligible.
The Science of IVF
The term “in vitro” is a Latin phrase which roughly translates to “in glass.” Unlike standard conception, where an egg is fertilized by sperm cells within the ovaries, IVF sees the egg removed from the body, and fertilized within a petri dish or test tube. As the process takes place, the samples are carefully monitored to ensure that the embryo receive as much care and protection as possible before being injected back into the mother’s body. As you can likely imagine, this process requires extreme delicacy and care to ensure that the fragile components of human DNA are not affected by any outside factors which could complicate a successful pregnancy. Not every instance of IVF results in a confirmed fertilization, though more than 60 percent of all hosts see successful results, according to a 2024 report in Today.
In Joy, the story of developing in vitro technology is played mostly as an upbeat examination of the human condition, with doctors and researchers hoping to assist a large percentage of the population. While the process of IVF treatments can still be prohibitively expensive and difficult to access for some in 2024 and beyond, Steptoe, Purdy and Edwards accomplished their goal with great success, and are well deserving of being highlighted in the film. Those interested in checking out Joy can stream the movie on Netflix as of Nov. 22, 2024.
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