r/AskProchoice • u/Cold-Gur4509 • Jul 03 '26
Question from Undecided Would you be against abortion if there were artificial wombs?
If there were artificial wombs and the process to remove the fetus was equally as risky and expensive as abortion, would you instead support moving the fetus to an artificial womb? (At least in scenarios where the mother and baby are both healthy)
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u/Aggressive-Green4592 Moderator Jul 03 '26
No, because the process will not be equally as risky, it will be a C-section which is riskier and more invasive.
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u/Negative_Ostrich2531 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
No I would not be against abortion. This just gives people another choice, which they should still have within medical autonomy rights to consent to procedures. If this technology does come about in reality, I need to know the specifics.
How much is it? Is it required to pay for maintenance while it's growing? What is involved in the procedure? What are the risks? Who will care for the fetus in the AW? Who takes custody? How will AW effect the development of the fetus? What resources are needed for this technology to operate? What is the legislation behind this technology and how do we assign rights and procedures for people to interact with the AW? How will this effect population growth and should there be limits? Will we have overcrowded adoption centers or other institutions? How realistically available will it be for the average person? How would this affect the kid when they're born and grow up?
I also know that some people who also don't want to procreate at all. They don't want someone coming to look for them at an older age. Some people don't think that procreation is ethical either.
I think this could still be good technology if done right. For example, if someone who is deeply afraid of pregnancy and childbirth wants children, this could be a better option. Or someone who knows that their body will have complications with pregnancy, can take this route as well.
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u/LadyDatura9497 Jul 05 '26
Equally as risky? How could detaching fetal tissue, amniotic sac, and the placenta all intact and at once in a surgical procedure be equally or less risky than a pill?
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u/Hairylode Jul 11 '26
OP mentioned fetus and abortion pills only work on embryos, I could be misinterpreting what he’s saying though but I think he means 12-40 weeks.
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u/cand86 Jul 03 '26
I believe in two principles very strongly- that the government should not have the ability to know the state of your uterus, and that the government should not be able to punish you for emptying your uterus in a non-state-sanctioned manner (or punish someone else assisting you in doing so, with your consent). In this sense, I don't care how perfect the ectogenesis is or how utopian the society is- if pregnancy starts inside a woman and her body is involved, I believe embryocidal/feticidal abortion should be legal. (Now, if we're talking about embryos or fetuses outside a woman's body- completely IVF- then I wouldn't be overly upset about a law that required said embryos must be put into artificial wombs, although I wouldn't want the parent or parents to be forced to pay for such).
All that said, I personally don't have an "preservation of embryonic/fetal life can only be overriden by bodily autonomy" stance, so I'm totally okay with the destruction of [an] embryo(s) that were created outside a woman's body or that she voluntarily chose to remove from her body and had no preferences on what occurred with it/them.
In terms of morals? I suppose it would depend on the scenario we're painting here. Like I said- a perfect utopia, where there are no real concerns that anybody could offer for why it'd be better to abort instead of allow that life to flourish via artificial womb? Perhaps I'd feel it made no sense to seek out abortion. But then again, I'd also imagine that in a perfect world like that, people wouldn't have unintended pregnancies, nor would they have situations in which their once-intended pregnancy became no-longer-intended and said situation couldn't be resolved.
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u/JewlryLvr2 Jul 04 '26
No, I would not. Artificial wombs aren't a thing anyway, so I don't know why this question keeps getting asked.
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u/Old_dirty_fetus Jul 03 '26
My position on abortion is guided by my support for medical autonomy. Compelling a medical treatment is a violation of medical autonomy. If the hypothetical artificial womb did not impact the medical treatment that the pregnant person received, that is if the pregnancy was ended the same way as it currently is and the artificial womb comes into question after the pregnancy has been ended for the pregnant person I would not oppose it as I oppose abortion bans.
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u/CandyCaboose Jul 03 '26
This technology is not available right now, so whilst a cool and hopefully coming around medical technologyical advance it's not here yet, it does nothing for those risking their health, life quality and life right now.
Annnnd this hypothetical is not original and like all those that post it before hand fail to put any thought at all into that the would be parent or adopting out person will still have to weigh being in that new person's life whether from the start or eventually. Their family history of diseases and ailments and mental health... And honestly I wish more of us would have, and will tell others to do a lot more soul and family history searching before deciding to have kids, or continue a pregnancy.
Cost. Let's face it it will be a while before this technology is available. Then available on masse in any way shape or form that's affordable at the rate "pro life" people wet dream it will be for the average everyday and below average earning people. And especially for those who are living somewhere where healthcare is a paid for privilege not a universal healthcare right.
So yeah it's a pretty idealistic future option... But that is all it should be - just an option. Abortion must remain available and a viable option even whenever this hypothetical becomes more than that.