Unmarried woman in China seeking to freeze her eggs loses court battle

A woman in China who had sued a Beijing hospital in 2019 for refusing to freeze her eggs due to her marital status lost her challenge in court.

Teresa Xu, 34, said she was angry with the verdict as reports claimed the procedure was open only for married women with fertility problems as the court found the hospital had done nothing wrong. China has strict rules on birth control and reproductive rights.

Xu declared that it was a "temporary setback" and asserted that reproductive rights for single women will improve and advance in time.

Although Xu had cited cases where authorities had eased barriers on assisted birth technology but the court disagreed asserting that it does notmeanChinese health authoritiesallow freezing of eggs for non-medical reasons.

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Xu said she wanted to concentrate on her career as a freelance writer and had visited the Bejing hospital to freeze her eggs but the officials refused, she then launched her case.

The woman claimed the doctor asked her to have a child rather then freeze her eggs while checking her marital status. She said going abroad to undertake the procedure was too expensive for her although she considered illegal clinics in the country but decided against it.

The case was widely followed in the country which brought to focus the difficulties involving women who wanted to take up assisted-birth technology to delay childbearing even as the courts ruled against it.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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