New Artificial Placenta Trials Raise Ethical Concerns

Researchers are exploring the ethics of artificial placentas, which are devices that mimic the human placenta to support extremely preterm infants. The technology will likely involve two phases: a C-section to deliver the infant into the device, and a trial phase where only the infant is involved. This raises a question: what if parents disagree on whether their infant should participate in the trial? To address this, researchers have identified three possible solutions. One option is to only involve the pregnant person, but this undermines the co-parent's autonomy. Another option is to only enroll parents who agree, but this also prioritizes the pregnant person's wishes. The researchers propose a middle ground: clinicians should engage both parents and try to reach a consensus, but if that's not possible, they should follow the pregnant person's decision - with the caveat that both parents will have equal rights and decision-making power once the infant is in the device.