I was thinking the other day about future reproductive technologies and would like to hear your opinion about this.
Let’s assume in the near future we invent, and perfect an artificial womb. An egg can be fertilized in a test tube and be transplanted into the womb, or an embryo can be safely, easily and routinely removed from a woman’s womb and transplanted into the artificial womb. It is, more or less, as simple as a modern abortion is today, as performed at a good hospital with well trained doctors.
Now if a woman decides to have a child but the father doesn’t want it, the woman has every right to sue for, and get child support for her child. After all, I assume the reasoning goes, the child is one half the father’s, so he should take at least the financial responsibility.
In this future time, since transplanting the fetus to an artificial womb is as routine as an abortion, the man has the right to petition the court and require that the fetus, rather than being terminated, be transferred to an artificial womb and take full custody of it. The woman retains full rights over her body and gets what she wants, a terminated pregnancy. The man gets what he wants, the fetus, and eventually, a child.
A woman decides to terminate her pregnancy. That is her right, since it’s her body. But the man now has a right to that fetus.
Can the man sue the woman for child support? Should he?
This isn’t a veiled attempt to make a statement about current custody/child support/abortion laws. I am really interested in how the law would have to change in this future scenario, and what ramifications it would have on current laws.
For instance, if both parents decided the pregnancy was a mistake and unwanted, could society and the courts step in and say “too bad, now we’re going to take this embryo, gestate it in an artificial womb and you are both now liable for child support?”