This autumn, Stephen Wilkinson, Andrew Darby, and Zindzi Cresswell joined leading bioethicists from across the globe at the Swedish National Council on Medical Ethics (SMER) 40th anniversary conference. The event brought together voices from Sweden, Canada, Germany, the UK and the US and international organisations including WHO and the Council of Europe to address the theme: "Bioethics in a time of global crises and scientific breakthroughs".

The conference programme reflected the complexity of our current moment – exploring topics from human rights and neurotechnology development, to the governance structures needed to maintain ethical clarity in turbulent times. Within this landscape, Stephen and Andy's work explored the ways in which emerging reproductive technologies require us to re-examine our assumptions about reproduction, parenthood, and family – and give rise to key ethical legal and social questions that must be considered before these emerging technologies reach clinical practice.

Opening up futures through design

Andy Darby's talk, "Exploring Complete Ectogenesis and In Vitro Gametogenesis Through Speculative Design," opened the conference's session: "Redefining Human: Frontiers in Reproduction and Biotechnology" – a panel that also featured Hank Greely (Stanford Law), Françoise Baylis (Dalhousie University) and Stephen Wilkinson.

Andy introduced speculative design as a method used by the Future of Human Reproduction team and demonstrated how it can help diverse audiences engage with complex issues. The conference participants were then invited to engage with a speculative design exhibition that featured artefacts designed and created by the FoHR team. Participants were encouraged to interact with the pieces and reflect on questions such as: What might complete ectogenesis look like in practice? How might in vitro gametogenesis reshape human relationships and family structures? Who benefits, and who might be excluded?

This creative, exploratory approach is one tool that can be used to ensure conversations about reproductive futures remain genuinely open and democratically informed.

Navigating ethical and policy challenges

Stephen Wilkinson followed with "Emerging Biotechnologies and the Future of Human Reproduction: Ethical and Policy Challenges," addressing how we can develop regulatory frameworks that are both flexible enough to respond to scientific advances and robust enough to protect values and ensure fairness.

Speaking alongside international experts studying reproductive biotechnology, Stephen's talk explored the urgent need for policy conversations to happen now – before theory becomes reality, and while there's still space for deliberation about which futures we want to build.

International collaboration in practice

The conference demonstrated the importance of international dialogue. Sweden's different legal context combined with perspectives from Germany's Ethics Council, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, WHO, and other national ethics committees across Europe, enriched discussions about challenges that cross borders and cultures.

The final panel on "Institutional Resilience: Strengthening Bioethics Governance" explored how national and international bioethics bodies can remain effective in an era of rapid change.

Watch and engage

Both Stephen and Andy's talks are now available on the FoHR YouTube playlist. The full SMER conference programme is also available online.

If you're interested in collaborating with FoHR, please get in touch.

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