The Artificial Womb: Foetal Personhood and Reproductive Futures

Artificial womb technology intended to simulate the environment of the uterus to allow extremely preterm babies to continue to develop as though they had not yet been born is on the horizon. Emerging theoretical and clinical literature that explores how this technology may impact pregnancy and birth has centred the perspective of the foetus/neonate. This article situates the hyperfocus on the foetus that characterises these works within the construction of birth in law, clinical practice, and society as something that happens to a baby (‘being born’). Contesting a foeto-centric worldview, this article theorises ‘giving birth’ as action. Discourses surrounding the promissory artificial womb illuminate embedded assumptions about what it is to be born. By reconceptualising artificial wombs through the lens of giving birth, this article argues for a reproductive future in which legal and medical frameworks are formulated around birth as an active process and complex experience.