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Will synthetic wombs become a thing? A few ultra-wealthy men think it might be a good idea, but they didn’t appear to consult any women to find out what they think. It sounds like a horrible idea.

Response to Elon Musk’s tweet leads to synthetic womb suggestion
Perhaps the primary reason the conversation about synthetic wombs is attracting attention is because it was kicked off by a tweet from Tesla CEO and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. He tweeted a concern that we should be worried about population collapse, sharing an article from the BBC about a “jaw-dropping” crash in the global fertility rate.

The BBC reported that plunging fertility rates mean almost every nation could see their populations start to shrink by the end of the century. It added that 23 countries are expected to see their populations cut in half by 2100.

In response, Sahil Lavingia, founder of digital product trading platform Gumroad, suggested that we should invest in technology that “makes having kids much faster/ easier/ cheaper/ more accessible,” such as “synthetic wombs, etc.” Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin added that women would be able to keep working if synthetic wombs relieved the “high burden of pregnancy.”

Why it’s a horrid idea
His argument was that women’s earnings drop significantly after they have a child, but men’s don’t. However, that statistic doesn’t show why women’s earnings drop so much after they have a child. One of the parents would have to take on the primary role in caring for a child, and if it’s the mother, the same problem could occur even for those who used synthetic wombs.

Men who are reading this probably don’t want to think about it, but there’s also the issue of breastfeeding. Women who don’t get pregnant won’t be able to breastfeed, and studies have shown that it’s beneficial for babies to be able to do so.

And the reasons go on and on.