Lillian Lauricella was a young wife, originally born in Italy in 1904. She came to the United States in 1911 with her parents. By 1926 Lillian was married to Salvatore Lauricella from Long Island, New York. Salvatore was a first generation American, born in New York in 1903. Together, this couple in the mid-1920s in America were starting a new life and hopefully establish a family very soon.
Attempted to have Children
Salvatore worked as an auto mechanic and Lillian took care of their home in Lawrence in Queens, N. Y. Over the next few years they expected to become parents at any time but it never seemed to happen. She eventually went to see several doctors receiving various fertility treatments. However, nothing worked and both Lillian and Salvatore were disappointed and heartbroken each time tests showed Lillian was not pregnant.
Medical Team in New York
There was a medical team in New York, Alfred Koerner and Frances S. Seymour, who were working on new methods to help couples conceive. Salvatore was the car mechanic for the Dr. Seymour and pleaded with the doctors to help his wife have a baby.
The first step was to test both Salvatore and Lillian to see if there was any medical condition preventing them from having a baby. It turned out the problem was Salvatore’s sperm. It did not have spermatozoa or mature sperm cells to produce fertilization. It was 1933 and the world was a long way off from medical advancements to improve sperm count and help couples conceive. Years earlier there had been various techniques used by doctors and much success with animal breeders.
Donor Insemination
Koerner and Seymour had been experimenting for two years and offered some new and radical ideas for the early 1930s. They were promoting the concept of insemination from an anonymous donor. The donors were paid for their services, but never knew if they produced any children.
This concept was explained to the Lauricellas. They had to think a long time, but knowing they wanted a child so bad, they agreed to the procedure. It did take several attempts before Lillian was able to conceive. By the fall of 1933, Lillian was a couple of months pregnant. Within a few more months, the doctors gave her the news she would be having twins.
Birth in 1934 of Twins
On April 17, 1934, two baby girls were born to Lillian Lauricella. They were healthy and the new parents were very happy. The girls were named Marilyn and Victoria.
Controversy
Unfortunately, the news media was having a field day with this event which was termed; “Synthetic Babies” or “Test-tube Babies.” Besides the artificial method of conceiving there was the big question and concerns on the donor sperm. The baby would never know who the biological father was.
Others argued the same situation was true when parents adopted a child, the father and mother may never be known. There was also an increased interest in the legal aspect of these babies conceived by donor sperm. For these reasons, most doctors in the 1930s were opposed to donor insemination.
Years Later
In spite of the scientific controversy, the new procedures were offering hope to couples for the mother to give birth to her own child. It would take years of debate to change the idea many people had and convince people that these babies were not manufactured or created and certainly not artificial humans. By 1978, with the birth of a true test-tube baby, Louise Joy Brown, in England using the in-vitro method, the world had greatly changed.
The Lauricella family remained happy with their two twin daughters over the years. The girls remained close and celebrated their 20th birthday in 1954 by vacationing in Bermuda.
Sources:
Lauricella Test-tube Twins
Alice Luckhardt - As a social science teacher in Florida for 18 years, office manager for the family business, historical and genealogical researcher and ...
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