Ectogestation and the Good Samaritan Argument

Abstract

Philosophical discussions concerning ectogestation are trending. And given that the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade (1973) and Casey v. Planned Parenthood (1992), questions regarding the moral and legal status of abortion in light of the advent of ectogestation will likely continue to be of central importance in the coming years. If ectogestation can intersect with or even determine abortion policy in the future, then a new philosophical analysis of the legal status of abortion is both warranted and urgently needed. I argue that, even if there is no ‘moral’ right to fetal destruction once ectogestation becomes a reality, societies ought not to implement legal prohibitions on a pregnant person’s ability to safely obtain an abortion that results in fetal death because such laws are systemically misogynistic.

Ectogenesis: understanding opportunities, implications, concerns, and ways forward

“…Children born through this artificial womb might face challenges of privacy invasion and loss as well as psychological harm to some children’s well-being as a result of intensive studies on them 17 . Attention has been paid, and more will definitely be paid, to the psychological impact of ectogenesis on the ecto-children with the belief that they lack the sensory experience and emotional development of a natural pregnancy because of the detachment from their mothers 18 .…”