The relational and moral aspects involved in social egg freezing

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Current research on egg freezing is quantitative and medical in nature. A focus upon women's experiences, and how they negotiate their decisions to undergo the procedure, is a significant gap within the literature. A limited number of studies (Baldwin et al, 2015; Gorthi et al, 2010) have provided a quantitative analysis of the motivations and intentions of women who undertake egg freezing, offering a useful starting point for further research. To date, there is limited research within Sociology on this highly topical issue.This project will focus on women's experiences of social egg freezing, paying particular attention to the relational nature of decision-making in terms of wider family and partner relationships as well as the moral dimensions embedded in these decisions. Wider relationships and personal circumstances are likely to shape women's considerations of freezing their eggs in key ways, because how actors behave is shaped by 'the others involved, and the relations they enjoy with those others' (Crossley, 2010). Inspired by the study of kinship in Sociology, this study views women's decisions to freeze their eggs not as singular, but as ones that 'are made in relation to others and not specifically in terms of their own...separate needs and desires' (Smart, 2011:17). In relation to the related practice of egg and sperm donation, Nordqvist and Smart (2014) have highlighted the usefulness of a relational approach by showing how reproduction and new medical technologies have deep ramifications not only for the individual, but also for the family and relationships in which they are embedded.The study will also explore the moral dimensions embedded in these processes, and particularly how morality is understood in relation to the impact of (potential) decisions that egg freezing might have on wider relationships, society and the future child that might result. Relationships are inevitably influenced by morality, as some actors can 'persuade and influence others by asserting the correctness of particular moral situations' (Mehta and Winship, 2010:434). The influence of those who are close to us have such a profound effect on decision-making because 'we wish to be seen as moral and morally accountable members of society' (May, 2013:45). The moral concerns of those around us are likely to reflect society's moral standards, especially under the context of reproductive medicine, as Rapp's (1999:3) research on pre-natal testing has shown. Although there is much research on morality within Sociology, understanding the extent to which morality affects decisions, and how moral issues are understood by women within the context of social egg freezing, remains under-researched. Research questionsThis research will be guided by the following research questions:1. What are women's decision-making processes when considering the process of social egg freezing, and how do they experience it?2. How are women's decisions shaped by the relational context in which they are embedded?3. How are the moral dimensions of egg freezing understood by the women who undertake the procedure?4. How might women from different backgrounds approach the question of social egg freezing differently?