Woman Sues Hospital Over Egg Freezing,Challenge to Marriage Laws

An unmarried Chinese woman filed a suit against a Beijing hospital on Monday (Dec 23) for rejecting her request to undergo a medical procedure to freeze her eggs due to her marital status, in the first courtroom challenge to Chinese marriage laws.

According to China's laws governing assisted reproductive technology, only married couples can use such health services, and they must be able to prove their marital status by showing a marriage licence.

Ms. Teresa Xu, 31, visited the Beijing Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital at Capital Medical University in November 2018, wanting to freeze her eggs while she focused on her career as a writer on gender issues.

A woman's eggs deteriorate in quality as she ages, presenting obstacles to conception among older women. Through a medical procedure, a woman's eggs can be removed from her ovaries and frozen for use at a later time.

Ms. Xu, from north-eastern Heilongjiang province, said that on her first visit to the hospital for a checkup, the doctor asked about her marital status and urged her to have a child now instead of freezing her eggs.

Upon her second visit, the doctor told her she could not proceed any further.

"I came here for a professional service, but instead I got someone who was urging me to put aside my work and to have a child first," she said. "I have already received a lot of this pressure in this society, this culture."

"This is a systemic issue because the system has brought this difficult position for single women," Ms. Xu said.

Ultimately she decided against it.

Ms. Xu said her case was expected to go on for several months.

"I personally feel that being able to arrive at this stage is already a sort of win," she said.

"For me, I didn't feel like I was at court as an individual. I felt I was standing there with the weight of many other single women's expectations."

Source: Reuters

Editor: Crystal H

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