Egg freezing for 'social' reasons: reproductive autonomy and legal regulation

出于“社会”原因冷冻卵子：生殖自主权和法律监管

• 批准号: 2290097
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Kent
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2290097
• 关键词: Egg; freezing; social; reasons; reproductive

In recent years an increasing number of women have chosen to freeze their eggs for 'social' reasons to delay motherhood until they feel 'ready'; emotionally, socially or economically . In response to the increasing, yet small, number of women freezing their eggs for 'social' reasons in the UK, the HFEA released its first report on the issue earlier this year . Therefore, now is a timely opportunity to consider the implications of this technology on women's reproductive autonomy. In my proposed research, I intend to address two broad questions:Firstly, to what extent does 'social' egg freezing enhance women's reproductive autonomy? Within this, I will focus on two sub-questions: is egg freezing permissible and, if so, in what circumstances? Should egg-freezing be limited to privately funded treatment, or should funding be available via the NHS or employers? Secondly, how should egg freezing for 'social' reasons be regulated in the UK? Key sub-questions will include: should restrictions on access be imposed, e.g. based on age, number of cycles, or higher standards of informed consent? How should storage and donation of frozen eggs be regulated, particularly considering statutory storage limits and restrictions on payments for egg donation? Finally, how should funding be regulated?

近年来，越来越多的女性出于“社会”原因选择冷冻卵子，以推迟生育，直到她们在情感上、社会上或经济上感到“准备好了”。在英国，由于“社会”原因而冷冻卵子的妇女人数不断增加，但数量很少，HFEA在今年早些时候发布了关于这个问题的第一份报告。因此，现在是一个及时的机会来考虑这项技术对妇女生殖自主权的影响。在我提出的研究中，我打算解决两个广泛的问题：第一，在多大程度上“社会”卵子冷冻提高妇女的生育自主权？在这一点上，我将集中在两个子问题：卵子冷冻是允许的，如果是，在什么情况下？卵子冷冻应该仅限于私人资助的治疗，还是应该通过NHS或雇主提供资金？第二，在英国，出于“社会”原因冷冻卵子应该如何监管？关键的子问题将包括：是否应该对获取施加限制，例如基于年龄、周期数或更高的知情同意标准？应如何监管冷冻卵子的储存和捐赠，特别是考虑到法定储存限制和对卵子捐赠付款的限制？最后，如何监管资金？