[Ectogenesis. Artificial womb tecnology and clinical practice: Ethical and legal limits]

The possibility of gestating outside the woman's body, through technologies such as ectogenesis, has moved from a speculative concept to a tangible horizon in the biomedical field. Over the past decade, experimental advances in animal models have demonstrated the feasibility of sustaining prematurely extracted fetuses in extrauterine devices, a process known as partial ectogenesis. However, these advances have fueled the belief that the reproductive future of humanity may ultimately lie in total ectogenesis that is, the complete development of an embryo within an artificial womb, entirely independent of the maternal body. This article examines the ethical and regulatory implications of artificial gestation, with particular emphasis on its clinical applications (neonatology or reproduction) and the potential effects on the meaning of pregnancy, maternity, and the protection of the gestated subject. Through a rigorous review of specialized literature, it identifies the main challenges this technology poses to traditional legal and bioethical categories like birth and filiation. The analysis is structured around three key axes: (1) the clinical analysis of partial and total ectogenesis; (2) the ethical and anthropological implications arising from the use of both technologies; and (3) the legal gaps concerning so-called reproductive rights and the need to adapt existing regulatory frameworks. Ultimately, the future of partial or complete ectogenesis will depend on our societies' ability to integrate technological progress with an ethics grounded in respect for the human person, ensuring that biotechnology does not supplant the very value of life it seeks to protect.