But what has been said rightly or wrongly about the pill will apply a hundred times over, and entirely correctly, to the advent of artificial gestation.

At first, only the rich might be able to afford it. Insurance companies might begin by prioritizing the needs of women who, through no choice of their own, are incapable of carrying a fetus to term. Yet insurance companies that celebrate Pride Month are hardly going to deny gay men the right to rent a womb, too.

Before long, it won’t seem so weird, and millions of women busy pursuing careers will see the advantage in having something else bear their children. Hippies and religious people will want to keep their childbearing natural. Will most women, when they can enjoy motherhood without the pains and risks of childbirth or the inconvenience of a nine-month burden?

The sentimental attraction of nature will again confront the calculus of convenience. Not every woman will do what is easiest, but more and more will. When the technology is mature enough, it may even offer measurable advantages to the child’s safety and health. The logic of adopting this technology will not be entirely selfish or hedonic.