Exploring definitions of parenthood in light of the ethical, legal and social implications of ectogestation
Examining how emerging and speculative technologies enabling partial or full ectogestation may impact legal and social definitions of parenthood in the UK.
We are leading a new research project exploring the ethical, legal and social implications of emerging and speculative ectogestation, and how these may affect existing legal and social definitions of parenthood in the UK and internationally.
Background
Ectogestation refers to emerging reproductive technologies that to enable partial or full gestation outside the human body. While specific terminology is not settled, they are sometimes referred to as artificial womb or artifical amnion & placenta technology. While still largely speculative, these could represent a significant shift in how human reproduction occurs.
Current UK parenthood law is structured around the assumption that pregnancy occurs within a human body. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 utilises the legal principle mater semper certa est (‘the mother is always certain’), and establishes legal motherhood through gestation and at childbirth.
Birth registration systems, as well as key legal mechanisms governing assisted reproduction and surrogacy, are built around this premise. However, it does not readily accommodate scenarios in which gestation and parenting might be separated, nor or where gestation could occur outside the human body.
If realised in practice, ectogestation could challenge the foundations of current legal, ethical and social frameworks in the UK – particularly those governing the attribution of legal parenthood.
Project summary
The Center for Bioethics and Health Policy (CBHP) has received approval from the Independent Research Ethics Committee (IREC) to lead an independent qualitative research project exploring the potential implications of ectogestation for UK law and society.
The project focuses in particular on how ectogestation-enabling technologies could challenge and affect existing legal and social definitions of parenthood in the UK.
The research will examine how current legal frameworks may respond to these developments, and explores alternative approaches to recognising parenthood that are legally coherent, ethically grounded, and informed by lived experience.
Research approach
The project aims to support informed discussion and decision-making among UK regulators, policymakers, law reform bodies and ethics organisations by providing inclusive, decision-relevant ethical analysis and interdisciplinary insights.
Rigorous qualitative research will be undertaken through the delivery of the following project activities, combining legal analysis, empirical research, and deliberative engagement:
Landscape scoping and comparative mapping
Semi-structured interviews
Thematic analysis
Future scenario-building
Delphi consensus panels
Participation and involvement
Interviews: seeking perspectives from individuals with learned and lived experience
As part of the research informing this project, semi-structured interviews will be conducted between from March to May. Interviews will take place on a rolling basis during this period.
We are inviting individuals currently based in the United Kingdom who have learned and/or lived experience relevant to assisted reproduction and family formation to take part.
This may include:
professionals working in assisted reproductive technologies (ART), law, medicine, sociology, bioethics, or related fields
individuals who have experienced infertility, fertility treatment, adoption, or surrogacy
people born through assisted reproduction, such as donor conception
individuals who have considered or explored assisted reproductive technologies
members of LGBTQ+ communities whose family formation pathways may intersect with these technologies
Participation from a wide range of perspectives will help inform the project’s analysis of the ethical, legal and social implications of emerging reproductive technologies
