On September 18, Willem Ombelet joined the annual ARCS* meeting in Birmingham for a lively debate on “Are we over-engineering reproduction?”

The discussion brought together exciting advances in reproductive medicine—from artificial intelligence and gene editing to fully automated IVF laboratories—while raising an important question: Will these innovations also help make IVF accessible to people in resource-poor countries?

The conversation highlighted the continuing importance of simple, affordable IVF solutions. Encouragingly, the debate ended with strong support for greater investment in these accessible approaches.

*ARCS stands for the Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists, a UK-based professional organisation for people working in reproductive science, including embryology and andrology.