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| Ms Xu has said she will appeal.In a video posted on the social network WeChat, Ms Xu said she was "not going to let it end like this." "We can't say that this is a blow to the reproductive rights of single women," she said, "but it may be a small temporary setback." (Photo by= AFP) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] A Chinese court has ruled against an unmarried woman seeking the right to freeze her eggs. Teresa Xu took legal action in 2019 after the Beijing Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital refused to perform the procedure, only available to married women with fertility problems, BBC reported.
But the court found that the hospital had not violated her rights. Ms Xu labelled the judgement a "setback" for women's reproductive rights, and promised to appeal. According to the judgment the hospital said it "understood" the complaint but had to follow the law. When Ms. Xu first launched the case, Chao Wei, a spokesperson for the hospital, said staff had complied with government regulations on assisted reproductive technologies, the New York Times reported. Then 30, Ms. Xu attempted to freeze her eggs in 2018 in order to focus on her career as a freelance editor. But she said hospital staff instead encouraged her to have a child.
There is high demand for egg freezing in China, and those who can afford to do so travel abroad. Her case has been widely followed in China, where there are strict controls on birth control and reproductive rights. In 2019 Ms. Xu said she had experienced societal pressure to have a child rather than focus on her career.
