ABSTRACT
“Ectogenesis” derives from ecto meaning “outer,” and genesis meaning “origin.” A preliminary distinction to draw here is between full and partial ectogenesis: full ectogenesis sees the whole process of pregnancy occurring outside the uterus; partial ectogenesis sees only part of the process of pregnancy occurring outside the uterus. The chapter argues that full ectogenesis likely cannot be conceived of without depending on a Fetal Container Model, and because of this inextricability, the author ought to be suspicious of any notions about its potential to help liberate women. Ectogenesis is a workable concept only if one assumes that the embryo and the mother are two separate and therefore separable entities. The possibility of ectogenesis may be taken as evidence that perhaps there never existed a parthood relationship between a fetus and its gestator; that it may be precisely because there is no parthood relationship in general between fetus and gestator that ARTs like the partial ectogenesis of IVF and incubation “work.”.
