Gen Z Are Down For Growing Babies In Bags

It sounds like a Black Mirror pitch: babies grown in artificial wombs, floating in bio-bags, entirely outside the human body. But this futuristic tech—called ectogenesis—is edging closer to reality, and Gen Z seems to be here for it.

In a new survey by Theos, a religious think tank, 42% of 18–24-year-olds said they would support “growing a foetus entirely outside of a woman’s body.” Compare that with just 21% of the general population, and you start to see the generational divide.

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So, what are we talking about, exactly? Think of an artificial womb as a high-tech version of a uterus. It mimics the entire process of pregnancy using artificial amniotic fluid and a mechanical placenta to deliver nutrients and oxygen. In theory, it could support a foetus from conception to birth without ever involving a biological pregnancy.

For Gen Z, that sounds like progress. For others? Possibly the end of women as we know them.

Some feminist scholars, including the late Andrea Dworkin, warned that perfecting artificial wombs could lead to a society where women’s roles in reproduction are no longer needed—or worse, where they are controlled. “The real question now is, will men, once the artificial womb is perfected, want to keep women around?” she wrote in 2012.

Image: Concept images for the EctoLife artificial womb

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Then there’s the legal and ethical minefield. Harvard bioethicist Vardit Ravitsky told MIT Technology Review: “When we say that a woman has the right to terminate, do we mean the right to physically separate from the foetus? Or the right not to become a biological mother?”

Still, the tech’s primary goal isn’t to make pregnancy optional. It’s to help save premature babies. In fact, researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, led by Dr Alan Flake, have already kept premature lambs alive in artificial wombs for four weeks—growing wool, gaining weight, and opening their eyes.

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In the UK, 10% of pregnancies end in premature labour, and survival rates at 22 weeks are just 10%. If artificial wombs can improve those odds, it’s a game changer.

Unsurprisingly, public support grows when framed around saving lives. The Theos study found that 62% supported artificial wombs if the mother was at serious risk during pregnancy, and 52% supported it for premature babies. But when it came to avoiding the pain of pregnancy? Just 15% were in favour.

So no, we’re not all ready to grow our babies in bags. But with science charging ahead and ethics struggling to keep up, it’s a conversation that’s only just getting started.