Once a worldwide network of stem cell banks is established (already starting, by the way), the raw material represented by the cells could be used to make any kind of cell in the body, including sperm. Catalogs could be produced the way listings of sperm donors are created now, outlining features and benefits. Women could make a toll-free call.

Stag colonies of men eating Doritos?
Being a man, I will assume that most women would prefer to give birth to female babies, girls being far more competent, intelligent and with less propensity to crash motorcycles. Two hundred years from now, a few isolated stag colonies are inhabited by men who have mutated to survive solely on Doritos. Male language has been reduced to a single word: “Wassup!”

As a guy, I’m not sure that sounds all bad. I like Doritos, and I would no longer pay taxes or shout at my TV when I see certain politicians. The world’s problems would be somebody else’s burden.

Have at it, ladies!

Of course, I don’t really expect to find myself living on Doritos in North Dakota, but someday soon, bone marrow or some other cell type may well be used to create usable sperm, something that could be a tremendous therapy for men suffering from azoospermia — and so lack sperm of their own. Other future technologies like synthetically created genomes, artificial chromosomes and manufactured cells also may be used as part of reproductive services.

And if any of this ever comes to pass, we are going to have to make conceptual adjustments because such developments will further change an already changing outlook on culture and on what it means to reproduce.

“The biggest development in reproductive biology is the birth-control pill,” Stock says. “Nobody ever talks about it, but look at the consequences: demographics; aging populations; the sinking population of Europe, Japan; immigration. It’s incredible.”

Women may not be so essential, either
Men will likely stick around for a very long time, but Stanford’s Magnus agrees that we will all have to adapt to new technologies, probably by divorcing sperm, egg and genes from the way we think of children. “I think what we really need is to do a better job of telling cultural stories to ourselves about what it means to be a family and have children. What does ‘having children’ mean in a technological age?”

This is a real question for women, too. Eggs have been created in labs, and though we still need your wombs to make a baby, research into “exogenesis” — gestating a “baby in a bottle” — is in its infancy. Roger Gosden, an IVF pioneer, favors the research.

Interactive Learn more about the techniques used to help couples conceive a child.

“The arrival of exogenesis would probably herald a host of new opportunities for our species — social as well as biological,” he declares in his book “Designing Babies.”

So ladies, laugh it up while you can because once those artificial eggs and the artificial womb hit the market, you’ll be buying your own dinners at Chez Francoise.   

Brian Alexander, MSNBC's Sexploration columnist, is a California-based writer who covers sex, relationships and health.

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