Scientists developing artificial wombs to help premature babies survive, raising ethical questions

ANKARA

Scientists are developing artificial womb technology that could one day keep extremely premature babies alive outside the human body, which is a breakthrough that could redefine the limits of life, reproduction, and medical ethics, media reports said on Wednesday.

The device, known as AquaWomb, is being developed by researchers in the Netherlands and Germany to mimic the natural environment of a pregnant uterus, according to The Guardian.

It is designed to help babies born between 22 and 24 weeks of gestation, which is a stage where survival rates remain critically low.

According to the media outlet, the system uses a fluid-filled glass tank about the size of a household fish aquarium, maintaining a steady temperature of about 99.7°F (37.6°C).

Inside, a soft double-layered sac allows the baby to float and grow, while a synthetic placenta pumps oxygen and nutrients through tubes connected to the umbilical cord.

“The lungs are the true liability,” said Frans van de Vosse, a cardiovascular biomechanics professor at Eindhoven University of Technology, advising the project.

“It’s like juggling 10 balls. Only the balls are on fire and dropping one is not an option,” he said, describing the delicate coordination required to keep the baby’s organs stable.

If successful, artificial wombs could dramatically extend survival for premature infants who are currently dependent on ventilators and incubators, which can cause lasting damage to underdeveloped lungs.

Myrthe van der Ven, AquaWomb’s co-founder and CEO, said the team aims not just to preserve life but to allow parental connection.

“We don’t need to be the first. We want to be the best,” she said.

Some prototypes include “access ports” for parents to touch their babies and a “uterus phone” that transmits parents’ voices and heartbeats through the amniotic fluid.

Ethical concerns

However, medical experts and ethicists warn that the technology could create complex moral and emotional dilemmas.

“This kind of device would create a new stage of human development, something we’ve never had to describe or regulate before,” said Elizabeth Chloe Romanis, a medical law scholar at Durham University.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened a committee in 2023 to consider approving the first human trials for artificial wombs.

Researchers say initial testing would involve infants born before 24 weeks, babies for whom current medical interventions rarely succeed.

Vitara Biomedical, a US firm that licensed similar “biobag” technology from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, has raised more than $125 million, a sign that clinical trials may be imminent.

Bioethicists caution that while the technology could save lives, it also risks reshaping perceptions of parenthood and pregnancy.

“Any ethical alternative to ‘natural’ pregnancy must address parents’ emotional needs alongside infants’ physiological ones,” Romanis said.

Despite the uncertainty, parents who have lost premature infants see hope in the research.

“All I wanted was to save him,” said Beth Schafer, whose son died after being born at 23 weeks. “If my body couldn’t do that, then maybe this womb thing could.”

Scientists say it may take years before the first artificial womb is used in hospitals, but when that day comes, the decision of whether to use it will not only be a medical one; it will also test humanity’s understanding of life, parenthood, and choice.