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Question
If technology were to develop so that a foetus could be removed from a mother and grown in an artificial environment until it was viable, would that alter the ethical issues surrounding abortion?
Guidance
At one level this question might seem to be one about science fiction. We are not close to developing an “artificial womb”. However, a consideration of this question helps clarify the differences between approaches to abortion.
For those who see the foetus as having no interests at all, it might be argued that the development of artificial environments will not really impact on the ethical issues around abortion. There will still be some debate to be had about who should make decisions about this material and maybe those will be resolved by property law.
It is for those who think that the foetus has full personhood or has significant moral interests that the possibility of artificial environments might have a significant impact on the ethical issues around abortion. Supporters of abortion rights who take this approach might argue that abortion is justified because the rights of the woman are sufficiently strong to justify an interference with the strong rights of the foetus. However, in the case of an artificial environment, it might be argued that the continuation of the life of the foetus in such a case does not challenge the rights of woman. At least, that might be the case unless the claims of the foetus rely on some kind of property claim.
One way of dealing with this question is to explore the different views on the nature of the foetus and the different rights that a pregnant woman might claim and to consider how these arguments operate if the foetus is contained in an artificial environment.
Reading
Greasley, K. (2017) Arguments about Abortion (Oxford University Press).
Kaczor, C. (2011) The Ethics of Abortion (Routledge).
Herring, J. (2019) ‘Ethics of Care and the Public Good of Abortion’, University of Oxford
Human Rights Hub 1.