It might sound like a far-fetched plot from dystopian science fiction, but novel research could soon allow parents to grow their baby in a bag.
Just like the 2023 film The Pod Generation, artificial wombs could support an infant from conception to birth without any need for pregnancy.
Although most of the population remains sceptical of this revolutionary change to motherhood, Gen Z seems ready to embrace the technology with open arms.
In a survey conducted by religious issues think tank, Theos, 42 per cent of people aged 18-24 said they would support ‘growing a foetus entirely outside of a woman’s body’.
In the first large-scale survey of its kind, as part of its Motherhood vs The Machine podcast, Theos asked 2,292 people for their views on artificial wombs.
This revealed that the majority of people remain staunchly opposed to growing a child outside a mother’s body except in cases where it might save the life of the mother or child.
While advocates have hailed artificial wombs as a step forward for women, freeing them from the physical and emotional burdens of pregnancy, not everyone is convinced.
Some critics have even argued that if the practice becomes common, it could be the ‘end of women’.
Although it sounds just like the plot of the dystopian sci-fi film The Pod Generation, future parents may be able to raise their children outside of the mother’s body in an ‘artificial womb’
In a normal pregnancy, the infant foetus develops from an embryo over a 37 to 40-week gestation period.
During that time, the child’s lungs are filled with amniotic fluid, and they receive all their oxygen and nutrients from the mother via the placenta.
An artificial womb aims to replicate all these processes mechanically, keeping the baby suspended in a bag filled with artificial amniotic fluid and exchanging nutrients through a mechanical placenta.
This process is called ectogenesis, meaning the growth of an organism outside of a body.
Although it is not currently feasible, such a device could, in theory, replace the mother’s uterus at every step of the reproductive process.
However, that idea does not appear to have found much support among the general population.
In Theos’ survey, only 21 per cent of respondents were supportive of growing a foetus outside of a woman’s body while 52 per cent were opposed to the idea.
People who identified as religious were even less likely to support the idea and women were less likely to be in favour of using artificial wombs than men.
Most of the British population remains opposed to growing babies outside of the human body, but a recent survey showed that Gen Z is much more supportive of the idea. Pictured: Concept images for the EctoLife artificial womb
Chine McDonald, director of Theos, told MailOnline: ‘People continue to see the deep significance of the embodied and relational experience of pregnancy and birth, and outside of extreme life-saving scenarios are opposed to this form of technological interruption of the pregnancy process.’
Only Gen Z showed any significant support for the notion, with 42 per cent supporting the use of artificial wombs and only 32 per cent saying they were opposed.
Ms McDonald says: ‘It’s unsurprising that young generations might be less wary of scientific advancement in general, as younger people tend to be more accommodating of and excited by technological developments.
‘But young people are also much less likely to have had experience of becoming parents, so the idea of artificial womb technologies would seem more abstract compared to generations above them.’
Yet the general public is not alone in their suspicion of producing humans outside the body, as many experts have also criticised the concept.
Since the 1970s, feminist activists such as Andrea Dworkin have been strongly opposed to the use of artificial wombs on the grounds that it could lead to the ‘end of women’.
In 2012, Ms Dworkin wrote: ‘Women already have the power to eliminate men and in their collective wisdom have decided to keep them.
‘The real question now is, will men, once the artificial womb is perfected, want to keep women around?’
Artificial wombs, like this concept showcased by Eindhoven University in 2019, allow a child to be raised without a biological mother. In a survey conducted by the think-tank Theos, 42 per cent of people aged 18-24 said they would support ‘growing a foetus entirely outside of a woman’s body’
However, overall only 21 per cent of 2,292 respondents were supportive of growing a foetus outside of a woman’s body while 52 per cent were opposed to the idea. Pictured: EctoLife’s proposed artificial womb facility
Likewise, in 2022, a group of researchers from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who have been developing artificial wombs published an article on the ethical considerations of technology.
The researchers wrote: ‘A concern is that it could lead to the devaluation or even pathologizing of pregnancy, and may diminish women’s experience of deriving meaning, empowerment, and self-fulfillment from this unique aspect of female biology.
‘In the unlikely event that complete ectogenesis would become equal to natural pregnancy in terms of outcomes, AWT [artificial womb technology] could become a tool of coercion guided by the idea that women regarded as “substandard gestators” could be pressured to use AWT for the safety of the fetus, hence violating maternal autonomy.’
There are also serious ethical considerations around the legal status of the embryo in an artificial womb and what a woman’s right to that embryo would be.
This is particularly problematic when it comes to women’s abortion rights.
Speaking to the MIT Technology Review, Vardit Ravitsky, a bioethicist from Harvard Medical School and CEO of the Hastings Center, says: ‘When we say that a woman has the right to terminate, do we mean the right to physically separate from the fetus? Or do we mean the right not to become a biological mother?’
Likewise, political philosopher Matt Deacon writes in a blog post: ‘Were ectogenesis an option, relieving a potential mother of the burden of pregnancy would no longer require termination.
‘With her interests intact, I see no reason why the genetic mother should be empowered with life and death authority. Authority over her body, yes. But assuming it’s healthy, not over the [child’s] life.’
An artificial womb is capable of replicating all the functions of the uterus, providing oxygen and nutrients to the developing foetus. Pictured: An experimental artificial womb in a trial to support lambs
Critics have argued that artificial wombs could be the ‘end of women’ since biological mothers will no longer be needed for reproduction. Pictured: The Pod Generation
Additionally, some people are concerned that using a machine in the place of a womb might deprive mothers of an important part of parenthood.
Ms McDonald says: ‘Technological advancements have undoubtedly helped mothers, but future possibilities could mean we miss some of the under-explored spiritual aspects of motherhood that make it a key doorway into what it is to be human.’
However, ectogenesis is not actually the primary intended use for artificial womb technology.
Instead, artificial wombs are being developed so that premature babies can continue to safely develop outside of the womb in an artificial ‘bio-bag’ designed to mimic the conditions inside their mother’s uterus.
This could significantly improve the survival rates for pre-term babies which currently stands at just 10 per cent for babies born at 22 weeks after conception.
When people were asked whether they supported ‘transferring a partially developed foetus from a woman’s body to an artificial womb’ the amount of people who would support the use of artificial wombs increased.
Overall, the proportion of Britons who support using artificial wombs to support premature babies was 52 per cent, with only 37 per cent remaining opposed.
In the case where ‘the mother is known to be at severe risk in pregnancy or the child-birthing process’, 62 per cent of respondents supported the idea and only 19 per cent remained opposed.
The main proposed use for artificial wombs is to support premature babies who would otherwise die. In trials, researchers have shown that premature lambs kept in artificial wombs not only survived but put on weight and grew hair (pictured)
This stands in stark contrast to a scenario in which an artificial womb is used to ‘avoid the discomfort and pain’ which was supported by just 15 per cent of people and opposed by 71 per cent.
This use of the technology is also significantly more likely to come into practice in the near future.
Researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, led by paediatric and foetal surgeon Dr Alan Flake, have already demonstrated how artificial wombs can be used to support lambs.
Across more than 300 successful trials, Dr Flake and his colleagues have shown how premature lambs kept for four weeks in an artificial womb not only survived but gained weight, grew wool, and opened their eyes.
In 2023, Dr Flake told the FDA’s Pediatric Advisory Committee: ‘We believe that our preclinical data supports feasibility and safety and that it’s adequate for consideration of a carefully designed clinical study of artificial womb technology.’
This means that it might not be long before the first human trials of artificial womb trials for human premature babies.
If the technology’s advocates are correct, this could lead to significant improvements in the survival chances of preterm babies and reduced risks to mothers.
