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An Artificial Womb Successfully Grew Baby Sheep -- and Humans Could Be Next (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Inside what look like oversized ziplock bags strewn with tubes of blood and fluid, eight fetal lambs continued to develop -- much like they would have inside their mothers. Over four weeks, their lungs and brains grew, they sprouted wool, opened their eyes, wriggled around, and learned to swallow, according to a new study that takes the first step toward an artificial womb. One day, this device could help to bring premature human babies to term outside the uterus -- but right now, it has only been tested on sheep. The Biobag may not look much like a womb, but it contains the same key parts: a clear plastic bag that encloses the fetal lamb and protects it from the outside world, like the uterus would; an electrolyte solution that bathes the lamb similarly to the amniotic fluid in the uterus; and a way for the fetus to circulate its blood and exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen. Flake and his colleagues published their results today in the journal Nature Communications.
Since many women feel free to just go to a sperm bank and have a child without a "father" [through artificial insemination], men will eventually be able to go to an egg bank and have a child without a "mother" [by renting an artificial womb].
Of course that is not the primary drive behind the development, but there are so many possibilities. Women with hysterectomies banking eggs to have children later without the risk and complexity of a surrogate. Husbands having children from eggs extracted from their dead or dying wife. Gay couples having children without involving any women. Old couples changing their mind about having children (as long as they planned ahead). "Professional" women who don't want to ruin their jobs or be inconvenienced. Attractive women who don't want to ruin their figures. Governments producing children using extracted DNA.