Thursday, October 06, 2005

Abortion, Pregnancy Transplants, and Artificial Wombs

A number of years ago I wrote some of the good folks of the American Medical Association, particularly some of them associated with the publication JAMA, regarding the feasibility of pregnancy transplants as an alternative to abortion. The replies I received made it clear that the recipients considered this to be the suggestion of a nutcase. I'm feeling an inch closer to vindicated now as we see discussions of technology heading in this direction.

Note that the pregnancy-transplant solution to unwanted pregnancies could address more than just the abortion-as-contraception scenario, but also the traditional "exceptions" for abortion such as when the life of the mother is in danger, or pregnancies due to rape where there's a chance that the pregnancy would be the tipping point in destroying the mother's ability to cope.

The author of the article linked here is a feminist, yet she is willing to admit that abortion is likely to be seen by future generations as barbaric, and that she has been disturbed by the photos showing the humanity of very young gestating children. She stops short of acknowledging that, in light of this, people are probably right when they oppose abortion-as-contraception here and now.

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