Life comes full circle

Alice Clarke was the first child born via IVF surrogacy in Australia, and one of the first in the world. Now, 36 years on, she's welcomed baby Artemis, also born via IVF and donor conception. And three generations of Alice's family are bursting with joy.

- GARY NUNN

The world's eyes were on Alice Clarke that buzzy day in 1988. News of Alice's one-month premature birth had leaked, and journalists rushed to record this landmark moment in reproductive technology - Australia's first IVF surrogate baby, and the first publicly known in the world. There had been whispers of another birth overseas, but that baby's identity remained secret.

Eyes were also fixed on Alice's family. Interest intensified when it emerged that her mother's sister was Australia's first surrogate. In an extraordinary act of sibling altruism, Linda Kirkman had carried baby Alice for her sister, Maggie.

Linda and Alice switched hospitals to avoid the media, but their cover was foiled. Linda found the subterfuge "enormous fun. We even made up a story about why we were checking in, thinking we'd outsmart the journos.

But they still found us." The family declined financial offers for exclusives. "So we could rebut inaccuracies," Linda says. A press conference was called in a Melbourne hotel. As Maggie and Linda entered the ballroom with Alice in a bassinet, their mouths fell open at the number of cameras and microphones.

"A journalist told us it was the biggest press conference they'd ever seen," Maggie says. "It was the most intimidating sight." Yet baby Alice - still shy of her due date - slept through it all.

Aunty Linda, who "likes to be in charge", says the press conference was a way to reclaim control. "You could feel the energy - it could've gone either way," she says. "It was exciting." She was also aware they'd made history. "I love that I'm a pioneer," she tells The Weekly.

Though many responses were congratulatory, "several religious commentators said it went against God, was just like prostitution, and that Alice should never have been born," Maggie recalls.