Posted on 04/26/2017 8:39:52 PM PDT by heartwood
Excellent comments.
There are a number of conditions which would lead one to expect a preemie: severe preeclampsia/HELLP syndrome, premature labor that does not respond to tocolytics, ruptured membranes with infection, severe placental abruption. Perhaps cancer in the mother discovered mid-pregnancy. Maternal diabetes difficult to control, with complications like retinopathy.
Yes, this is going to open up a brave new world, full of practical and moral questions. Technology always does, and we usually don’t recognize the scope of the changes until after they’ve occurred. We are not good at not using technology, nuclear and chemical weapons being a notable exception to date.
Compared to some possibilities (AI, genetic engineering. life extension) artificial wombs seem not quite as momentous. Of course they can be combined with the above.
I don’t think the surgery would be more involved than a C-section. Take baby from mother, connect umbilical cord to machine. Some precision work there which might prolong the C-section.
One hope is that the artificial womb will present a safer and less stressful environment than the NICU, and reduce the incidence of neurological impairments.
I imagine they would play recordings of the mother's heartbeat and mimic her movements and the parents could still come in and talk to the baby so it could know their voices. There's still a complex interplay of hormones and sensory input that the baby won't have, but again, it seems preferable to an incubator and ventilator.
They are born all the time.
Back to the Soylent Green movie?
I think kids are bonding with machines much to early now. Imagine a machine giving birth. Will they be born with a phone in their ear? born with an implanted chip to control them better? Programmed to eat properly so the switch can be shut off when fattened enough to be reprocessed?
“Programmed to eat properly so the switch can be shut off when fattened enough to be reprocessed?”
No. They will just be processed when they reach the required weight.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.