Ectogenesis, ectogenesis is actually word that was coined in the 1920s by the scientists and author JBS Haldane at a conference in Cambridge. And ectogenesis literally means external gestation. That refers to the growth of a baby outside of the human body. As to this word biobank, biobank refers specifically to a research project that began in 2017. It was a group of researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia that created what is essentially a life support platform for extremely preterm babies.
As technology continues to advance, the once distant concept of growing a human fetus outside the womb is inching closer to reality. But with these advancements come myriad ethical, legal, and social questions that challenge our understanding of parenthood, abortion rights, and even personhood. To discuss these issues our host Helen Czerski is joined by Claire Horn, research fellow at Dalhousie University's Health Law Institute and author of Eve: The Disobedient Future of Birth.
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