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SUMMARY:Brave new future: a realistic ELSI of ectogestation - Elselijn Kin
 gma-Vermeer (King's College London)
DTSTART:20220505T143000Z
DTEND:20220505T160000Z
UID:TALK173432@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Richard Staley
DESCRIPTION:The idea of full ectogenesis – the complete extracorporeal d
 evelopment of human mammals from zygote to baby – has a prominent place 
 in the popular imagination. From Sci Fi literature (_Brave New World_) to 
 the radical reimagining of second wave feminists (Firestone)\, it tends to
  be seen as a promise of extremes: either Utopia or Dystopia\; threat or l
 iberation\; but in any case importantly linked to the rights\, position an
 d idea of woman in society. The bioethical literature has happily gone alo
 ng with this\, repeatedly declaring the imminent arrival of 'artificial wo
 mbs'\, spawning a flurry of articles that are direct descendants of these 
 earlier imaginaries. The most recent flurry was spawned by a 2017 article 
 in _Nature_ reporting the successful maturation of extremely premature lam
 bs in extracorporeal uterine-like sacks.\n\nHowever: full ectogenesis is n
 ot around the corner. What _may_ be around the corner is the replacement a
 nd – hopefully – improvement of current neonatal technologies by syste
 ms that mimic the conditions in the womb and preserve mammals in a fetal s
 tate. That development poses important philosophical\, ethical\, legal and
  social questions. These are mostly different from those posed by full ect
 ogenesis (though the rights\, position and idea of woman in society remain
 s an important theme)\, but are currently eclipsed by the overwhelming foc
 us on futuristic 'babies in bottles' scenarios. This paper attempts to giv
 e a realistic view of the possibilities (and limits!) of possibly imminent
  technological revolution\; set out a realistic social ethical research ag
 enda\, and perhaps even offer some answers.
LOCATION:Hopkinson Lecture Theatre and Zoom
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