Egg freezing for non-medical uses: the lack of a relational approach to autonomy in the new Israeli policy and in academic discussion

Shkedi‐Rafid, Shiri; Hashiloni‐Dolev, Yael

doi:10.1136/medethics-2011-100088

Cited by 29 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Our data were collected just a few months after Apple and Facebook publicly agreed to cover the expenses of oocyte freezing for their female employees in the USA as well as during the midst of a debate in the medical and lay field about the use of the technology to delay childbirth for career reasons and the role of the society regarding this topic [37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45]. In contrast to a study from Singapore where 70 % of female medical students would consider this an option for family planning, only about half of our study participants knew about the principle of oocyte freezing, and 12 % would consider this technology as an option for themselves [20].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of infertility, fertility assessment, and assisted reproductive technologies in the era of oocyte freezing among female and male university students

Meissner

Schippert

Versen‐Höynck

2016

J Assist Reprod Genet

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Purpose The aims of our study were to analyze university student's knowledge and attitude towards parenthood, female fertility, fertility assessment, and oocyte freezing and to explore associations between these aspects and the participant's sex or degree program they were registered for. Methods The study was designed as an online-based crosssectional survey. A total of 1144 participants answered 27 questions. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Linear regression models were employed to explore associations between sex or university program and attitude towards parenthood, fertility assessment, and oocyte freezing. Results Female students and students of non-medical degree programs were more likely to plan to have children earlier than male students or students of medical degree programs. Female sex or medical degree program was associated with an overall better knowledge about women's fertility. The better the participant's knowledge about fertility, the more likely the students would consider assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments as an option to become pregnant when ovarian reserve is low. The majority of students knew the principal of oocyte freezing but would not consider using it. However, in the case of a low ovarian reserve, oocyte freezing would be accepted as an option. Conclusions Students planned to have children at an age when women's fertility is already declining. Gaps in knowledge about female fertility and the potential of ART were more pronounced in male students and students of non-medical degree programs suggesting an increase of fertility awareness is necessary in these groups to prevent them from infertility and unwanted childlessness.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of infertility, fertility assessment, and assisted reproductive technologies in the era of oocyte freezing among female and male university students

Meissner

Schippert

Versen‐Höynck

2016

J Assist Reprod Genet

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“…Recently, the Israel National Bioethics Council (INBC) issued recommendations permitting egg freezing to prevent both disease-and age-related fertility declines [12]. The INBC report forms the basis of Israel's new policy, being one of the first countries to regulate and authorize egg freezing for what it considers to be non-medical (i.e., social) uses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ethical discussion in the INBC report is reviewed and compared with the scant ethical discourse in the academic literature on egg freezing as a means of preventing age-related loss of fertility. Shkedi-Rafid and Hashiloni-Dolev [12] argued that both the INBC recommendations and the bioethical academic discourse on egg freezing are grounded in liberal ideology, which views technology as primarily enabling. Accordingly, they promote ''individual autonomy'' as exercised through informed consent.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Egg Freezing: Developing Countries Are Not Exempt

Allahbadia

2015

J Obstet Gynecol India

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Non-medical egg freezing has only been available for about the last 5 years, as new vitrification techniques have made the success rates for actual conception more reliable than the earlier method of slow freezing. The improved outcomes of new technologies of vitrification and intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) have led to the marketing of egg freezing for non-medical reasons, whereby women are offered the possibility of preserving their eggs until such time as they wish to have a child. For many women today, it is not cancer but the simple passage of time that robs them of their chance of motherhood. Social, educational, emotional and financial pressures often lead them to delay trying to start a family until their late thirties, by which time the chance of success is very low. Women at age 40 face a 40 % chance of miscarriage if they can get pregnant at all, and by the age of 45, the risk of miscarriage is 75 %. Donor eggs are not an option for many because of supply constraints and ethical and cultural concerns. Freezing a woman's eggs at age 30 literally ''freezes in time'' her fertility potential and 123gives her the chance of a healthy pregnancy at a time of her choosing. Despite the initial reactions of disapproval, more and more fertility clinics are now offering oocyte cryopreservation to healthy women in order to extend their reproductive options. This procedure is now becoming popular even in developing economies, and egg freezing in major Indian Metros is now routine.

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“…Finally, there are doubts concerning the benefits for women as such. It is argued that the technique entices women to postpone their desire to reproduce to an older age, but one at which, statistically speaking, the probability of becoming pregnant declines sharply [59]. Moreover, the technical solution is inadequate, it is argued, since it is a social problem when healthy young women do not feel in a position to have a child [65].…”

Section: Benefits Of Sfmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Will she not be less energetic than a young mother?" [59]. Whether older parents are mentally and physically able to take care of their child is also discussed in the debate over postmenopausal egg donation (e.g., [60][61][62]).…”

Section: Risks Of a Late Pregnancymentioning

confidence: 99%

Should Postponing Motherhood via “Social Freezing” Be Legally Banned? An Ethical Analysis

Bernstein

Wiesemann

2014

Laws

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Abstract:In industrial societies, women increasingly postpone motherhood. While men do not fear a loss of fertility with age, women face the biological boundary of menopause. The freezing of unfertilized eggs can overcome this biological barrier. Due to technical improvements in vitrification, so-called "social freezing" (SF) for healthy women is likely to develop into clinical routine. Controversial ethical debates focus on the risks of the technique for mother and child, the scope of reproductive autonomy, and the medicalization of reproduction. Some criticize the use of the technique in healthy women in general, while others support a legally defined maximum age for women at the time of an embryo transfer after oocyte cryopreservation. Since this represents a serious encroachment on the reproductive autonomy of the affected women, the reasons for and against must be carefully examined. We analyze arguments for and against SF from a gendered ethical perspective. We show that the risk of the cryopreservation of oocytes for mother and future child is minimal and that the autonomy of the women involved is not compromised. The negative ethical evaluation of postponed motherhood is partly due to a biased approach highlighting only the medical risks for the female body without recognizing the potential positive effects for the women involved. In critical accounts, age is associated in an undifferentiated way with morbidity and psychological instability and is thus used in a discriminatory way. We come to the conclusion that age as a predictor of risk in the debate about SF is, from an ethical point of view, an empty concept based on gender stereotypes and discriminatory connotations of aging. A ban on postponing motherhood via SF is not justified. OPEN ACCESSLaws 2014, 3 283

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Egg freezing for non-medical uses: the lack of a relational approach to autonomy in the new Israeli policy and in academic discussion

Cited by 29 publications

References 26 publications

Awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of infertility, fertility assessment, and assisted reproductive technologies in the era of oocyte freezing among female and male university students

Awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of infertility, fertility assessment, and assisted reproductive technologies in the era of oocyte freezing among female and male university students

Social Egg Freezing: Developing Countries Are Not Exempt

Should Postponing Motherhood via “Social Freezing” Be Legally Banned? An Ethical Analysis

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