It’s getting harder to tell the difference between satire and legitimate news. A generation ago, Francis Schaeffer wrote a prophetic book called Whatever Happened to the Human Race? that helped launch the pro-life movement. The accompanying documentary series included a skit that warned of what could lie down the road: a couple grocery shopping decides, between the chicken soup and cleaning supplies, to pick up a kid with the right hair and eyes. 

Well, as Britain’s Mirror puts it, “Science fiction is about to match up with reality as the world’s first ‘artificial womb facility’ has been announced—where you’ll be able to choose your baby’s characteristics from a menu.” As a colleague quipped, the next step will be two-day delivery via UPS. 

We’ve slipped down a slope from Schaeffer’s satirical warning to a chilling reality because ideas have consequences. When absolute autonomy is the only rule, and children are lifestyle choices, then we can’t be shocked when human beings can be added to our shopping carts.