Williams, Nicola Jane and Krendel, Alexandra and Semino, Elena and Wilkinson, Stephen (2026) Artificial wombs, reproductive autonomy and abortion : a bioethical and corpus linguistics exploration. JME Practical Bioethics, 2 (2): e000086. pp. 1-11.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
With goals to support fetal development outside of the human body, artificial womb technology (AWT) research is currently focused on improving health outcomes for extremely premature neonates. While AWT remains at a preclinical stage, recent experimental successes in animal models have led to significant discussion and debate regarding the ethical, legal and social questions raised by potential future applications of the technology. Of particular interest have been questions about how AWT, designed for both partial and full gestation outside the human body, could fundamentally alter the landscape of human reproduction and constitute a tool for both the expansion and restriction of individual reproductive rights and freedoms. Yet, while there has been significant academic discussion within bioethics and law, there has so far been relatively little exploration of public responses to, and anxieties regarding, future uses of AWT. This paper seeks to add to the sparse empirical work on this topic by bringing together an examination of the academic literature on ethical questions raised by AWT (particularly in terms of reproductive autonomy) and a systematic analysis of comments on two popular YouTube videos about AWT, carried out using corpus linguistics tools. In so doing, it uncovers and explores similarities and differences between the academic and public discourses surrounding AWT and reflects on the additional value and insights that corpus linguistics methods may provide into public attitudes surrounding AWT.