In vitro gametogenesis (expected to happen in 5–25 years) will give #women yet another tool to increase their reproductive options. (Not so much men — gay or straight — as a woman are still needed for gestation.)
Today, women don’t need a committed partner, or even a one-night stand. They can freeze their eggs and postpone maternity. They can get regular eggs from a donor for free (or the best ones paying money). They can get regular sperm from a donor for free (or the best one paying money; ie pick and choose a “father” online). They alone decide about abortion. They can have their partners raise a child that is not their own. They can give birth alone, leave “name of the father” blank on the form, and nobody even bothers to find out whether there might be an unwilling father out there, or questions the merits of deciding to raise a kid without a father.
Men can’t do any of that.
Talk about “reproductive rights”.
An artificial womb will the be biggest advance in favour of #men. It might be the great equalizer. Gestation will cease to be a burden, a risk, and a privilege exclusive to women. Imagine a single man becoming a father, and nobody even asking him “who’s the mother?” or “who donated the eggs?” (Sounds heartless, sad, creepy? It’s just what we have now, only with the sexes reversed.)
#ArtificialWombs are not expected to arrive any time soon, though.
