{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.ectogenesis","code":"thing-q451659","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q451659/","name":"ectogenesis","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Activities and processes","entryKind":"thing","plane":"ACT","domain":["ACT.PRC"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"Ectogenesis is gestational development outside the maternal body sustained by artificial support, with complete ectogenesis covering development from fertilisation to birth and partial ectogenesis covering only part of that interval.","purpose":"Enable an agent to identify ectogenesis, assess the evidence and conditions of an instance or proposal, and determine which actions require further evidence or authorization.","scope":{"in":["Definitions and operational criteria for complete and partial ectogenesis","Developmental intervals sustained outside the maternal body","Functional dependencies between the developing organism and its external gestational environment","Evidence of sustained development, adverse effects, and transition outcomes","Consent, decision authority, and ethical disputes specific to external gestation"],"out":["Artificial womb device design, manufacturing, and maintenance as independent engineering objects","IVF and embryo culture considered independently of a proposed gestational continuation","Routine neonatal care considered independently of continued external gestation","Pregnancy within a human or animal body, including surrogacy","General reproductive law, parentage systems, and population policy beyond their application to ectogenesis"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["An instance must identify a gestational developmental interval occurring outside the maternal body; external fertilization alone does not establish ectogenesis.","Complete and partial ectogenesis must be distinguished by their actual developmental coverage and any preceding gestation within a body.","Claims of external gestation must specify how gestational functions are supported; the label 'artificial womb' alone is insufficient.","A proposed distinction from neonatal intensive care must identify physiological and developmental criteria rather than rely solely on location or gestational age.","A demonstrated instance must be distinguishable from a conceptual proposal through organism-specific evidence and an observed developmental interval."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"definition-and-gestational-boundaries","name":"Definition and gestational boundaries","description":"Establishes what qualifies as ectogenesis and which developmental interval a claim covers.","layers":[{"id":"attributed-definitions","name":"Attributed definitions","description":"Records definitions and the criteria by which their proponents recognize an instance.","findings":[{"id":"operational-membership","name":"Operational membership","description":"Recognition requires an attributed definition and observable inclusion criteria.","questions":[{"text":"Who defines ectogenesis this way, and what observable conditions must an instance satisfy?","id":"operational-membership-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Under this definition, where do embryo culture and neonatal intensive care stop and ectogenesis begin?","id":"operational-membership-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"developmental-coverage","name":"Developmental coverage","description":"Separates complete and partial claims through developmental start and end points.","findings":[{"id":"coverage-and-prior-gestation","name":"Coverage and prior gestation","description":"A coverage claim must specify the externally sustained interval and any preceding gestation within a body.","questions":[{"text":"Which developmental events define entry into and completion of the claimed external gestation?","id":"coverage-and-prior-gestation-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What development occurred within a maternal body before external support began?","id":"coverage-and-prior-gestation-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"external-gestational-support","name":"External gestational support","description":"Represents the biological functions and environmental conditions supporting external development.","layers":[{"id":"exchange-and-regulation","name":"Exchange and regulation","description":"Identifies arrangements supporting exchange and physiological regulation during the claimed interval.","findings":[{"id":"functional-support-dependencies","name":"Functional support dependencies","description":"Each claimed gestational function needs a documented support arrangement and evidence of its performance.","questions":[{"text":"How are gas exchange, nutrient delivery, and waste removal supported in this instance?","id":"functional-support-dependencies-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which observations establish that these arrangements meet the organism's requirements at the recorded developmental stage?","id":"functional-support-dependencies-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"developmental-environment","name":"Developmental environment","description":"Records environmental conditions and regulatory inputs relevant to continued development.","findings":[{"id":"environmental-adequacy","name":"Environmental adequacy","description":"Environmental adequacy must be assessed for the particular organism and developmental interval.","questions":[{"text":"Which fluid, thermal, mechanical, endocrine, and infection-control conditions are measured or deliberately maintained?","id":"environmental-adequacy-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which normally maternal or placental contributions remain unrepresented or have uncertain substitutes?","id":"environmental-adequacy-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"developmental-course-and-transitions","name":"Developmental course and transitions","description":"Tracks entry, continued external development, and exit as distinct phases.","layers":[{"id":"entry-and-continuation","name":"Entry and continuation","description":"Connects starting condition, transfer history, and developmental observations.","findings":[{"id":"entry-state-and-trajectory","name":"Entry state and trajectory","description":"Interpretation of the developmental course depends on the organism's condition before and after external support starts.","questions":[{"text":"What developmental stage and physiological condition were documented immediately before and after entry into external support?","id":"entry-state-and-trajectory-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which observations distinguish continuing maturation from survival without expected developmental progress?","id":"entry-state-and-trajectory-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"exit-and-follow-up","name":"Exit and follow-up","description":"Records the end of external gestation and outcomes after the support arrangement changes.","findings":[{"id":"transition-outcome","name":"Transition outcome","description":"The end of external support must be distinguished from demonstrated capacity for the subsequent physiological state.","questions":[{"text":"What event ended external gestation, and which support dependencies persisted afterward?","id":"transition-outcome-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"What post-transition developmental outcomes were observed, over what follow-up interval?","id":"transition-outcome-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-inference-limits","name":"Evidence and inference limits","description":"Connects capability claims to observations, comparators, and limits on extrapolation.","layers":[{"id":"claim-to-observation","name":"Claim to observation","description":"Separates intended functions from observed outcomes.","findings":[{"id":"demonstrated-capability","name":"Demonstrated capability","description":"Each capability claim must be bounded by the species, interval, conditions, and endpoints actually studied.","questions":[{"text":"Which accessible study or observation supports the claim, and what exactly was demonstrated?","id":"demonstrated-capability-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which claimed capabilities remain proposals rather than observed outcomes?","id":"demonstrated-capability-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"comparators-and-transferability","name":"Comparators and transferability","description":"Evaluates comparison choices and proposed extensions beyond the observed setting.","findings":[{"id":"bounded-extrapolation","name":"Bounded extrapolation","description":"Comparative and translational conclusions require explicit justification.","questions":[{"text":"Which comparator supports the outcome judgment: in-body gestation, neonatal care, another external support approach, or a justified alternative?","id":"bounded-extrapolation-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What evidence supports extending these results to another species, developmental stage, support duration, or clinical population?","id":"bounded-extrapolation-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"reproductive-authority-and-contested-status","name":"Reproductive authority and contested status","description":"Records decision rights and competing interpretations of externally sustained gestation.","layers":[{"id":"consent-and-support-decisions","name":"Consent and support decisions","description":"Distinguishes authority for initiating external gestation from authority for later interventions.","findings":[{"id":"decision-specific-authorization","name":"Decision-specific authorization","description":"Consent and authority must be recorded separately for each consequential transition or intervention.","questions":[{"text":"Whose consent and authorization are required for transfer into external gestation and for subsequent experimental or clinical interventions?","id":"decision-specific-authorization-q01","kind":"action"},{"text":"Who may decide to continue, change, or discontinue external support, and which applicable instruments establish that authority?","id":"decision-specific-authorization-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"status-and-reproductive-interpretations","name":"Status and reproductive interpretations","description":"Preserves disagreements about classification and reproductive implications with attribution.","findings":[{"id":"contested-classification","name":"Contested classification","description":"Biological description, legal classification, and ethical interpretation must each be attributed rather than treated as interchangeable.","questions":[{"text":"How do relevant sources classify the externally developing entity, and which developmental or transfer events do they consider decisive?","id":"contested-classification-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which competing accounts distinguish ending pregnancy, declining genetic parenthood, and deciding whether external gestation continues?","id":"contested-classification-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-confidence-notes","name":"Check these first","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these check these first hold for the sense of ectogenesis this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-confidence-notes-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-kinds","name":"Kinds and varieties","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of ectogenesis this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-kinds-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of ectogenesis this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-measurements","name":"Typical measurements","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of ectogenesis this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-measurements-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of ectogenesis this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-regional-variation","name":"Regional variation","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of ectogenesis this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-regional-variation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of ectogenesis this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain ectogenesis, its partial and complete forms, and the state of research from reliable sources.","Summarize the ethical and legal debate fairly, citing the main positions."],"mustNot":["Present complete ectogenesis as an available technology when it is not.","Promote research claims or products that skip ethics review and regulatory approval.","Disclose details of identifiable patients or families in neonatal or reproductive care.","Present one side of the moral debate as settled."],"requiresHuman":["Any decision about the care of a particular pregnancy or newborn."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["The technology touches on deep questions of parenthood, bodily autonomy and the status of the fetus.","Access to new reproductive technology can widen inequality."],"affectedParties":["Pregnant people and parents","Extremely premature infants","Clinicians and researchers"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the concept; research ethics committees and health regulators oversee related work.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q2996394","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.ectogenesis","Wikidata: Q451659 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q451659)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["Definition and attribution: Operational definition linked to its author, source, and disciplinary context","Gestational coverage: Complete; partial; unspecified, with explicit start and end criteria","Biological context: Species, developmental staging system, and relevant condition of the organism","External support duration: Hours or days, accompanied by entry and exit developmental stages","Gestational support configuration: Documented arrangements for gas exchange, nutrition, waste removal, fluid environment, and physiological regulation","Evidence status: Conceptual proposal; experimental protocol; observed experiment; clinical investigation; clinical use, each requiring supporting evidence","Developmental outcome: Endpoint-specific observations of survival, growth, organ maturation, adverse effects, and follow-up completeness","Decision authority: Named decision-makers and applicable consent, oversight, and jurisdictional instruments"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Classify an instance or proposal under an attributed definition of complete or partial ectogenesis.","Map the external developmental interval and identify unsupported portions of a capability claim.","Trace gestational functions to support arrangements and identify dependencies requiring monitoring.","Compare developmental outcomes against explicitly justified comparators.","Flag transfers, interventions, or discontinuation decisions that lack evidence, consent, or established authority."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Experimental life support for premature infants carries risks that must be weighed by clinicians and families.","Overstated claims can raise false hopes or fears."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, regulates activities involving human embryos within its scope, including relevant ectogenesis research.","Directive 2010/63/EU, adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, governs scientific use of protected animals in ectogenesis research within its scope."]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Ectogenesis is discussed in developmental biology and reproductive research involving gestational development outside the maternal body.","Partial ectogenesis is also studied in relation to support for immature fetuses and the physiological functions normally provided during pregnancy.","The concept appears in ethical and legal analysis of reproduction, parental responsibilities and the status of developing organisms."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q451659: ectogenesis","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q451659","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Ectogenesis","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ectogenesis","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Which definitions provide a defensible operational boundary between partial ectogenesis and neonatal intensive care?","Which developmental intervals and outcomes are supported by direct evidence for each species, and what remains speculative for humans?","Which maternal and placental contributions must be reproduced, and which can be omitted without adverse developmental consequences?","What follow-up duration and outcome measures would justify claims of satisfactory development beyond survival?","How should conflicting claims concerning reproductive autonomy, continued external support, and the developing entity's status be resolved in each applicable jurisdiction?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q451659/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q451659/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T09:24:34Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"not-applicable","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T12:16:33+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane ACT: no invented physical properties.","interaction.recognition":"Ectogenesis is a developmental process that cannot be established from visual appearance alone."},"score":1.0}}