I hold what many consider an unpopular opinion: abortion should be legal, while IVF should be banned. (IVF = In-Vitro Fertilization) The ethics of this stance is based on the assertion of sovereign authority of the parents (especially the mother) over creation of new life and informed by the view of parenthood as an eminently sexual life function.
Since a woman's body is the host of the initial development of human life, she is granted the prerogative to decide how and if she becomes a mother. In my view, her sovereignty and authority extends from the moment of conception until the point a fetus transitions from a potential human being into an actual one. The deciding agent is the mother -- not a judge or a doctor -- who declares whether new life has begun within her womb.
The woman exercises control through her choice to allow or disallow pregnancy, whether through contraception or abortion and, of course, selection of her male partner. If she chooses to reject her pregnancy, she must do so with the full gravitas of the matter and within reasonable time after conception, recognizing that she is terminating a potential human life rather than removing a "meaningless piece of flesh." Under this ethics, abortion can be justified as a subjective claim of self-defense, as protection against an invading body. We have seen such subjective claims made by police shooting threatening persons. Once a woman accepts her pregnancy, the new life becomes actual and termination of pregnancy can be permitted only under extraordinary circumstances.
Consistent with my support for woman's authority over natural pregnancy, I believe IVF methods should be banned because they insert artifice into sexual reproduction. IVF separates fertilization from the sexual encounter, allowing embryos to be formed in laboratories rather than through a human connection. Under IVF creation of new life is no longer sexual but technological. While it may appear that IVF is an advantage and even achievement of humanity, eliminating burdensome sexuality from initiation of new life, we are not fully able to grasp what is being lost. At the very least, the male partner is effectively eliminated and generation of new life is surrendered to technology. Under IVF the process of acceptance of new life, from conception to early pregnancy, eliminates parental authority and replaces it with the authority of technical experts.
In near future, technology may replace the mother's womb entirely. Scientists are already working on an artificial womb and have "greater ambitions". They see
a future in which a machine like “Mother” will be able to fully gestate a human, all the way from embryo to newborn. It could offer a new path to parenthood for people who don’t have a uterus, for example, or who are not able to get pregnant for other reasons Ref: National Review article
This raises a terrifying possibility: human life generated entirely artificially, born without a human mother in a process that may resemble production of intelligent robots. If, or rather when, this is allowed, will such individuals be seen as equals to naturally conceived people, or will they be viewed as disposable, reproducible "machines" similar to sentient AI? Or will they be superior products -- an achievement of technology and finance? Will they be able to confront their "maker" with the anxiety of their existence?
Our current reproductive ethics lost sight of the centrality of the child and its interests in favor of aspirations of adults to parenthood. In my view, life should be a gift lovingly given by parents to a child. I could even say: A child has a human right to be naturally conceived within a loving parental bond. Ethical parenthood requires dedication and sacrifice, beginning the moment a mother accepts a pregnancy into her womb following a coupling with a partner.
In the context of IVF, the crucial connection between conception and parenthood is severed. By banning these methods and supporting a woman's right to choose within the scope of natural conception, we enshrine the human factor in the creation of life. We ought to support a reproductive ethic that protects the right of every child to be conceived naturally and lovingly.
