Five years ago, incredible experiments were conducted on animals to develop Artificial Womb Technology (AWT) at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). This technology made us ponder on the ethical aspects for premature babies.
However, AWT raises questions that go beyond the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). For instance, CHOP’s approach requires a cesarean section under general anesthesia for the mother, which increases the risk to her. Like other innovative obstetric/perinatal interventions, such as feto-maternal surgery for the mother and fetus, AWT raises questions about potential benefits for the baby versus known risks for the mother. The only way to know would be to conduct a clinical trial with informed consent and see if promising animal results can be replicated in humans. Such trials must carefully evaluate short- and long-term outcomes for mothers and babies, which is a standard approach for ethical evaluation of these therapies.
AWT also raises more complex questions about using artificial womb technology for babies at more advanced stages of gestation and its potential to replace certain neonatal care technologies currently in use. The choice of appropriate interventions will be scientifically complex but ethically straightforward. They will be based on data regarding the relative risks and benefits of traditional approaches versus innovative approaches. The one that is safest and most effective will eventually prevail, unless the costs are too high to justify improvements in clinical outcomes.
However, the use of AWT also raises other ethical questions, for example questions related to the personhood of the embryo, the manipulation of embryos as well as women\’s role in procreation.
More information, visit this website: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/AG3BKDIE3SMXG3BAKPDW/full?target=10.1080/15265161.2023.2191057