Chine McDonald, co–host of the new podcast ‘Motherhood vs The Machine’ introduces the project. 13/03/2025

In 1949, Simone de Beauvoir in The Second Sex argued that technology could help emancipate women from their unequal status in society. Seventy–five years later and science can now enable women with fertility issues to become pregnant; we can feed our babies with shop–bought formula rather than breastfeed; we can buy a machine to rock our babies to sleep. Most of us would celebrate these advances in technology and agree they have provided some liberation for women.

But there is also more profound technological advancement on the horizon, including ectogenesis or ‘artificial wombs’ which could mean that women never have to give birth again. Though some of these advancements might seem the stuff of science fiction, we at Theos wanted to find out whether – in an age in which there is an assumed decline in religiosity and spiritual belief (we think an incorrect assumption) – people still instinctively feel there’s anything we might lose if motherhood were replaced by machines; if mothers were separated – even partially – from pregnancy and birthing.

As part of our Motherhood vs the Machine podcast project (which has launched today), we commissioned YouGov to undertake a survey. We found that both women and men generally oppose an ‘artificial womb’ being used to grow a foetus entirely outside a woman’s body.

Scientists working on the possibility of growing a foetus outside of the womb may find considerable public opposition to the use of this technology: 52% of respondents were opposed to growing a foetus entirely outside of a woman’s body, with only 21% in favour. One in six (59%) said it’s “unethical for scientists to disrupt a biological process”.

When asked in what situations respondents they would support or oppose the use of artificial wombs, the least support was shown for situations where mothers wish to avoid the pain and discomfort involved in pregnancy and childbirth. Only 15% supported the use of ectogenesis in this circumstance, and 71% opposed.

However, a majority of Brits were likely to support the idea of ectogenesis where the mother is known to be at severe risk in pregnancy or the child birthing process (62%); where the foetus is known to have a life–threatening condition that requires surgery early in pregnancy (60%) and where the foetus is likely to be premature (49%).

Women oppose artificial womb technology more strongly than men. Those who practise a religion are also more likely to oppose than those who don’t. On the other hand, younger respondents (18–24) were more likely to support the use of ectogenesis in all situations, when compared to their elders.

We had a hunch that the public might be wary of technological advancements that separate motherhood from the body, whether or not people are religious. The Christian tradition, however, can help frame our response to new technologies through an ethic of sacrifice, love and incarnation.

There is a lot of talk about declining fertility rates, about economic instability working against families, and the nature of motherhood within pro–natalist populist movements. The political backdrop alongside advancing technologies requires us to consider what we really think about the nature of what it is to be human and how it relates to motherhood, pregnancy and birthing.

Motherhood – not just for those who have physically been pregnant and birthed babies but those who engage in the very embodied nature of caring for children, including adoptive children – is both inescapably physical and profoundly spiritual; it is both at the same time. And in so being, it gives us a unique insight into what it is for us all to be human: to be both material and transcendent, recognising our vulnerability and our interdependence. A good society recognises that we are both, just as mothers walk the tightrope between the two, daily.

It was great to see interest in our polling picked up by The Times, the Daily Mail and Unherd. We would love you to listen to Motherhood vs the Machine – whether or not you are a mother yourself. Please do tell us what you think, and spread the word.

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