The relational and moral aspects involved in social egg freezing

目前对卵子冷冻的研究是定量的和医学的。对女性经历的关注，以及她们如何就接受手术的决定进行谈判，是文献中的一个重大空白。数量有限的研究(Baldwin等人，2015年；Gorei等人，2010年)对进行卵子冷冻的妇女的动机和意图进行了量化分析，为进一步研究提供了一个有用的起点。到目前为止，社会学内部对这一高度热门的问题的研究有限。该项目将专注于女性的社会卵子冷冻经验，特别关注决策的关系性质，包括更广泛的家庭和伴侣关系，以及这些决策中嵌入的道德层面。更广泛的人际关系和个人环境可能会在关键方面影响女性冷冻卵子的考虑，因为演员的行为取决于“参与其中的其他人，以及他们与其他人之间的关系”(Crossley，2010)。受社会学中亲属关系研究的启发，这项研究认为，女性冷冻卵子的决定并不是单一的，而是“与他人相关的，而不是专门针对她们自己的……独立的需求和欲望”(Smart，2011：17)。关于卵子和精子捐赠的相关实践，诺德奎斯特和斯马特(2014)通过展示生殖和新的医疗技术如何不仅对个人，而且对其所在的家庭和关系产生了深刻的影响，强调了关系方法的有效性。研究还将探索这些过程中嵌入的道德维度，特别是如何理解道德与冷冻卵子可能对更广泛的关系、社会和未来孩子可能产生的(潜在)决定相关的影响。人际关系不可避免地受到道德的影响，因为一些行为者可以“通过断言特定道德情境的正确性来说服和影响他人”(Mehta and Winship，2010：434)。与我们关系密切的人对决策的影响如此深远，因为“我们希望被视为道德上和道德上负责任的社会成员”(2013年5月：45)。正如拉普(1999：3)对产前检查的研究所表明的那样，我们周围人的道德关切可能反映出社会的道德标准，特别是在生殖医学的背景下。尽管社会学中有很多关于道德的研究，但了解道德对决策的影响程度，以及在社会卵子冷冻的背景下，女性如何理解道德问题，仍然研究不足。研究问题本研究将以下列研究问题为指导：1.考虑社会冷冻卵子的过程时，女性的决策过程是什么？她们是如何经历这个过程的？2.女性的决定是如何受到她们所处的关系背景的影响的？3.接受冷冻卵子的女性如何理解冷冻卵子的道德层面？4.来自不同背景的女性如何以不同的方式处理社会冷冻卵子的问题？

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?