Staff profile

Lauren is studying towards a Master of Jurisprudence. She graduated in 2021 from Durham University with an undergraduate degree in Law, receiving Upper Second Class Honours. Her undergraduate dissertation, for which she received first class honours, concerned artificial womb technology and the impact such developments could have on the viability threshold Lauren is a member of the Centre of Ethics and Law in Life Sciences and the Centre for Criminal Law and Criminal Justice.

Current Research

Lauren’s research concerns the development of artificial womb technology. Her MJur is focused on the unanswered question of whether an artificial womb could be ‘turned off’ once a gestateling is inside. Lauren will explore the possibilities of applying abortion and end of life law, dependent on whether the gestateling would be legally ‘born alive’ and granted legal personhood or if it would assume the rights of a fetus. This research will consider issues such as consent between genetic parents and doctors concerning turning off the device, and the impact that life-limiting and non-life-limiting disabilities could have on this decision. Lauren’s primary supervisor is Dr Elizabeth Chloe Romanis and her secondary is Dr Samantha Halliday.