The Prospects and Ethical Controversies of Artificial Womb Technology: A Case Study of China

Abstract

As a disruptive reproductive technology, artificial wombs not only hold tremendous potential for improving the survival rates of premature infants and optimizing the management of high-risk pregnancies, but also raise profound and complex ethical challenges. This paper focuses on the Chinese context, exploring the future applications and potential controversies of this technology through the lens of moral imagination, and along two developmental trajectories: partial ectogenesis and complete ectogenesis. Artificial wombs may significantly improve treatment outcomes for extremely premature infants and high-risk pregnant women, expand reproductive autonomy, promote gender equality, and offer solutions to ethical dilemmas associated with surrogacy. However, the technology may also disrupt traditional Chinese family structures, intensify tensions between fetal right to life and maternal autonomy, and heighten risks of reproductive coercion and technological misuse. Drawing on Hans Jonas’s ethics of responsibility, this paper advocates for anticipatory governance that promotes technological innovation while establishing inclusive ethical deliberation mechanisms. The goal is to strike a balance between technological advancement and social ethics. This study offers a forward-looking ethical framework for navigating artificial womb technology in China.