Actor James Norton, who stars in a new film telling the story of the world’s first ‘test tube baby’, has criticized how ‘prohibitively expensive’ IVF can be in Britain.
In Joy, the star plays real-life scientist Bob Edwards, who, along with obstetrician Patrick Steptoe and embryologist Jean Purdy, has worked tirelessly for ten years on medical ways to help infertility.
The film charts the decade leading up to the birth of Louise Joy Brown, who in 1978 was dubbed the world’s first test-tube baby.
In Britain, statistics show that the share of IVF cycles paid for by the NHS has fallen from 40% to 27% over the past decade
Norton, who is best known for his role as Tommy Lee Royce in the BAFTA-winning series Happy Valley, told Sky News that he has friends who are IVF babies and other friends who have had their own children thanks to fertility treatment.
“But I knew nothing about these three scientists and their sacrifice, tenacity and skill,” he said. The star hopes the film will be “a catalyst for conversation” about the treatment and its availability.
“We are sure that Jean, Bob and Patrick would not have liked that IVF is now so resource-based,” he said. “It is unaffordable for some… and there is a postcode lottery, which means some people are excluded from that opportunity.”
Bill Nighy, Thomasin McKenzie and James Norton star in Joy. All photos: Netflix/Kerry Brown
Now IVF is considered a miracle of modern medicine. More than 12 million people owe their existence today to the treatment that Edwards, Steptoe and Purdy worked so hard to create.
But Joy shows how public reaction in the years leading up to Louise’s birth left the team vilified: accused of playing God and creating ‘Frankenstein babies’.
Bill Nighy and Thomasin McKenzie star alongside Norton, with the script written by acclaimed screenwriter Jack Thorne and his wife Rachel Mason.
The couple underwent seven rounds of IVF themselves to conceive their son.
Norton plays scientist Bob Edwards, while McKenzie plays embryologist Jean Purdy
Although the film is set in the 1970s, the reality is that societal pressures have not changed that much for many undergoing IVF treatment today, with the costs now being both emotional and financial.
“IVF is still seen as a luxury product, as something that some people get access to and others don’t,” said Thorne, speaking about their experiences in Britain.
“Louise was a working-class girl with working-class parents. Working-class IVF babies are now very, very rare.”
In the run-up to the US election, Donald Trump saw IVF as a campaign point, promising that his government, or insurance companies, would pay for the treatment of all women if he were elected. He called himself the “father of IVF” at a campaign event – a comment described as “pretty bizarre” by Kamala Harris.
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“I don’t think Trump is a blueprint for this,” Norton said. “I don’t know how that fits in with his questions around pro-choice.”
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In Britain, statistics from fertility regulator HEFA show that the proportion of IVF cycles paid for by the NHS has fallen from 40% to 27% over the past decade.
“It’s so expensive,” Norton said. “Those who want to have a child should have that choice… and some people’s lack of access to this incredibly important science effectively means that people have no choice.”
Joy will be available in UK cinemas from November 15 and on Netflix from November 22
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