M2.2

The rapid technological advancements in neonatal intensive care are opening the door to a future that includes artificial wombs and ectogenesis. These developments have the potential to revolutionise our understanding of reproduction and pregnancy. Scientists are working to improve neonatal intensive care for extremely premature births, and a study published in 2017 successfully tested a concept that preserves maternal physiology outside of the womb in lambs. These technologies still have a long way to go before achieving ectogenesis.

Optimists are excited about the potential applications and opportunities that forthcoming artificial womb technologies (fAWT) could o!er. Skeptics, on the other hand, have expressed concerns about the complexity of these devices compared to the maternal environment and the possibility of their implementation leading to "baby factories." It is important for these di!ering perspectives to come together to discuss the future rules, regulations, and requirements of fAWT and its use.

In order to facilitate this discussion, I have been using speculative design practices to explore how di!erent features and timeframes can provoke and illustrate various future scenarios involving fAWT. Working in collaboration with experts, I have created a context around fAWT using storytelling, visualisations, and a demo device to allow stakeholders to interact with the ethical, legal, and emotional issues at hand.

Through this device and contextualisation, we can begin to engage in critical conversations about the potential implications of ectogenesis and to prepare for the introduction of fAWT into the market. By taking the time now, to construct the values we hold in relation to this technology and how they translate to rules, regulations, and requirements for its use, we can ensure that its implementation is guided by a thorough consideration of the ethical, legal, and emotional implications of this groundbreaking technology.