The 18-foot tall anti-abortion display on campus this week is certainly attracting its share of attention. The gruesome photos were chosen to provoke disgust in any who see them, and they do this job well.
The abortion debate has been a bitter controversy from the beginning and shows little signs of tapering off. I have always been torn over the issue: on the one hand I think that abortion is wrong, a bad choice, possibly even infanticide. On the other, I'm not convinced it is the government's role to impose that standard on everyone.
Unfortunately there seems to be no resolution to this controversy. Neither side has given ground since Roe versus Wade. If anything, it has become a more heated debate daily. I've avoided writing about it in the past because I don't completely identify with either extreme.
However, this week I heard about something that has made up my mind and the current campus discussion of the subject provides the perfect time to reveal it. Until now, the goals of pro-lifers and pro-choicers have been irreconcilable. The answer is ectogenesis.
Ectogenesis is the development of a fetus in an artificial environment. Until recently, it was considered science fiction, a fanciful notion out of Aldous Huxley.
But last week it was announced that researchers at Cornell University's Centre for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility created a rudimentary artificial womb in which in-vitro fertilized embryos could attach.
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The lining was created from actual endometrium cells, which were grown on a biodegradable frame in the shape of a uterus. Once the frame had dissolved, nutrients and hormones were added. Embryos placed inside then attached themselves normally to the endometrium.
The announcement comes just days before an international conference at Oklahoma State University this weekend called "The End of Natural Motherhood? The Artificial Womb and Designer Babies." The conference is set to review the bioethics of emerging technologies such as this that may drastically alter the way we think about human reproduction.
The technology is early in its development now, but many different scientists are working on various aspects of pregnancy and childbirth that will be applicable to ectogenesis technology. Some experts predict that it is only a matter of a few years before a system that can support a fetus from conception to birth is developed.
Even then it will be many years before this technology becomes commonplace. Many existing laws about in-vitro fertilization are already obstacles to the research. Pending laws in many countries regarding cloning and other biological technologies may make it even more difficult.
However, this technology is not something to fear. It could, and perhaps should, bring an end to the abortion debate. Rather than killing an unwanted fetus, it could be removed and grown artificially for adoption. Everyone wins: no abortion occurs, the woman is not burdened with responsibility, and the child gets to live.
There are many other possible applications for ectogenesis: infertile couples, homosexual partners, even individuals interested in cloning themselves will have a way to have a baby without having to find a surrogate mother.
Eventually, even healthy women may opt to have their babies grown outside their bodies. Pregnancy is a miserable and dangerous process, and although many women may still want to have their babies the "old fashioned way," others might be just as happy to be rid of the burden.
Fifty or 100 years from now, when ectogenesis has become commonplace, it may become financially difficult for anyone to be pregnant. Artificial wombs could theoretically be much safer for the child because it would not be exposed to alcohol, drugs or other toxins from the mother's body. Also, the baby would be protected from accidents and would always have medical assistance on hand.
With such an alternative available, the medical costs for pregnancy will far exceed the cost of ectogenesis. Health insurance for actual pregnancies will be enormous, and many providers may insist on artificial wombs. Employers will become reluctant to grant maternity leave.
When pregnancy becomes obsolete, abortion will also fall by the wayside.
Rather than fighting the abortion battle so viciously, both sides should be looking ahead to a future without it.
by Craig A. Butler
Daily Lobo Columnist
