No verdict yet in second egg freezing trial

Court will decide whether unmarried women have right to access services

The second and final trial in China's first legal case over the right of unmarried women to access egg freezing concluded on Tuesday afternoon with no verdict given.

Xu Zaozao, a pseudonym for an unmarried 35-year-old woman who sued a hospital in Beijing in 2018 for refusing to freeze her eggs, emerged from the gate of Beijing No 3 Intermediate People's Court at around 4:50 pm following a nearly three-hour hearing.

"I am cautiously optimistic about the pending result," she said. "Like the first trial, the focus of today's debate was on whether the hospital's refusal infringed upon my personal rights, and we also discussed its potential infringement of my bodily rights because my eggs are part of my body."

A rule released by China's top health authority in 2001 states that single women are barred from accessing egg freezing services. Married couples who have been diagnosed with infertility, as well as married women living with some diseases — such as those with cancer who have to go through chemotherapy — are allowed to freeze eggs.

In a statement released in 2021, the National Health Commission said the technology is intrusive and carries higher risks than sperm-freezing procedures for men, which could impact the health of women and their babies.

"Promoting egg freezing services could also bring false hope and further delay women's childbearing plans," the commission said. "Furthermore, selling reproductive technologies to healthy groups might result in misunderstandings and overuse among consumers."

Two hearings were held for the first trial in 2019 and 2021. In July last year, Xu was notified that she lost her case, so she decided to appeal.

"I appealed because I believe egg freezing services are important for single women," she said. "In recent years, positive signs leading to the potential easing of current regulations have also emerged, and I am more hopeful this time around."

During this year's two sessions of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference held in early March, a number of political advisers and legislators touched on the topic of expanding access to egg freezing services.

Xu Congjian, president of Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai and a national political adviser, said during an interview that he suggested "moderately" removing egg freezing barriers for special groups.

"For instance, I met an unmarried woman who wanted to freeze eggs because she had to work in high-altitude areas for several years and pinned her hopes on the technology as a way to balance career development and fertility plans," he said, adding that unmarried women who are dealing with health problems such as cancer and blood diseases should also be given the option to freeze their eggs after professional evaluation of their health condition.

He also stressed that he objected to lifting all restrictions.

"The risks for women having babies after age 35 remain high, and increasing the number of children with older parents could also raise societal issues," he said.

On March 13, Caixin.com, a news media outlet, reported that the commission was organizing experts to discuss the possibility of lifting restrictions on egg freezing services for single women.

"If the verdict turns out to be what I've hoped for, I will go to a public hospital and freeze my eggs as soon as possible," Xu Zaozao said.