“If somebody wants an abortion, nobody should override their decision”: Modern Canadian perspectives on abortion in relation to artificial womb technology
Recent advancements in artificial womb technology (AWT) – extrauterine gestation – have led to significant bioethical debates on the future of access to abortion. Anthropologists have leveraged concepts of stratified reproduction and reproductive governance to shed light on how different individuals...
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | SSM: Qualitative Research in Health |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667321525000071 |
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| author | Srishti Hukku Lisa L. Wynn Angel M. Foster |
| author_facet | Srishti Hukku Lisa L. Wynn Angel M. Foster |
| author_sort | Srishti Hukku |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent advancements in artificial womb technology (AWT) – extrauterine gestation – have led to significant bioethical debates on the future of access to abortion. Anthropologists have leveraged concepts of stratified reproduction and reproductive governance to shed light on how different individuals are encouraged/discouraged to reproduce and how key actors such as the state mobilize the capacity for reproduction. As such, we aimed to explore the perspectives of Canadian citizens on the provision of abortion services if AWT were to become a reality. From September 2020 to February 2021, we conducted a qualitative bilingual community-based survey with 343 Canadian citizens and 41 semi-structured in-depth interviews with a subset of survey respondents in English and French. We analyzed the survey data using descriptive statistics and the interviews for content and themes using inductive and deductive techniques. Our study found that when assessing the potentiality of AWT, participants centered reproductive choice, bodily autonomy, and family planning in decision-making. Participants further expressed that any efforts at governance of AWT should ensure that the technology complements, rather than curtails, existing methods of reproduction and assisted reproduction, and enhances choice for those desiring parenthood. For our participants, AWT was seen as a medical device that had the potential to improve lives while ensuring that abortion-seekers’ rights to control their bodies and reproduction were not impeded. Our study demonstrates that the current ban against the development and use of AWT is a form of gestational stratification that privileges those with access to a uterus for gestation which limits reproductive choice. Policymakers and legislators should consider these perspectives when developing policies and regulations at the intersection of abortion and new assisted human reproduction technologies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e706e9d54ee94a6ea85e1a6ce6927e4f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2667-3215 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | SSM: Qualitative Research in Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-e706e9d54ee94a6ea85e1a6ce6927e4f2025-01-24T04:45:55ZengElsevierSSM: Qualitative Research in Health2667-32152025-06-017100529“If somebody wants an abortion, nobody should override their decision”: Modern Canadian perspectives on abortion in relation to artificial womb technologySrishti Hukku0Lisa L. Wynn1Angel M. Foster2Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1N 6N5; School of Social Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaSchool of Social Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaFaculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1N 6N5; Collaborative for Interdisciplinary Global Abortion Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Corresponding author. 1 Stewart Street, 312B Ottawa, ON, K1N6N5, Canada.Recent advancements in artificial womb technology (AWT) – extrauterine gestation – have led to significant bioethical debates on the future of access to abortion. Anthropologists have leveraged concepts of stratified reproduction and reproductive governance to shed light on how different individuals are encouraged/discouraged to reproduce and how key actors such as the state mobilize the capacity for reproduction. As such, we aimed to explore the perspectives of Canadian citizens on the provision of abortion services if AWT were to become a reality. From September 2020 to February 2021, we conducted a qualitative bilingual community-based survey with 343 Canadian citizens and 41 semi-structured in-depth interviews with a subset of survey respondents in English and French. We analyzed the survey data using descriptive statistics and the interviews for content and themes using inductive and deductive techniques. Our study found that when assessing the potentiality of AWT, participants centered reproductive choice, bodily autonomy, and family planning in decision-making. Participants further expressed that any efforts at governance of AWT should ensure that the technology complements, rather than curtails, existing methods of reproduction and assisted reproduction, and enhances choice for those desiring parenthood. For our participants, AWT was seen as a medical device that had the potential to improve lives while ensuring that abortion-seekers’ rights to control their bodies and reproduction were not impeded. Our study demonstrates that the current ban against the development and use of AWT is a form of gestational stratification that privileges those with access to a uterus for gestation which limits reproductive choice. Policymakers and legislators should consider these perspectives when developing policies and regulations at the intersection of abortion and new assisted human reproduction technologies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667321525000071AbortionArtificial Womb TechnologyCanadaEctogenesisAssisted Human Reproduction Act |
| spellingShingle | Srishti Hukku Lisa L. Wynn Angel M. Foster “If somebody wants an abortion, nobody should override their decision”: Modern Canadian perspectives on abortion in relation to artificial womb technology SSM: Qualitative Research in Health Abortion Artificial Womb Technology Canada Ectogenesis Assisted Human Reproduction Act |
| title | “If somebody wants an abortion, nobody should override their decision”: Modern Canadian perspectives on abortion in relation to artificial womb technology |
| title_full | “If somebody wants an abortion, nobody should override their decision”: Modern Canadian perspectives on abortion in relation to artificial womb technology |
| title_fullStr | “If somebody wants an abortion, nobody should override their decision”: Modern Canadian perspectives on abortion in relation to artificial womb technology |
| title_full_unstemmed | “If somebody wants an abortion, nobody should override their decision”: Modern Canadian perspectives on abortion in relation to artificial womb technology |
| title_short | “If somebody wants an abortion, nobody should override their decision”: Modern Canadian perspectives on abortion in relation to artificial womb technology |
| title_sort | if somebody wants an abortion nobody should override their decision modern canadian perspectives on abortion in relation to artificial womb technology |
| topic | Abortion Artificial Womb Technology Canada Ectogenesis Assisted Human Reproduction Act |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667321525000071 |
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