A doctor opens a liquid nitrogen storage container for sperm or eggs at the assisted reproductive medicine center of Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital in the southwestern city of Chengdu. Photo: VCG

Chinese political advisors have proposed relaxing rules on egg-freezing access to unmarried women to preserve fertility, in order to ensure single women's reproductive rights are protected and related regulations are adapted to meet the social demands of the times. 

Hua Yawei, deputy dean of the Henan Cancer Hospital in Central China's Henan Province, told the Global Times on Thursday that as there are a large number of well-educated and high-income women above 30 years old in big cities who are unmarried but have a very strong desire to have children, preserving high-quality eggs during their peak childbearing age can help them have healthier babies when they do get married, Hua explained.

Jin Li, a chair professor and acting vice president of the Southern University of Science and Technology, submitted a proposal in 2022 to call for fertility preservation for all single women who want to preserve their fertility. He told the Global Times that his suggestion remained unchanged in 2023, given the growth of the group of single women who need to preserve their fertility and suffer from fertility anxiety.

According to current regulations, dating back to 2003, in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment is available only to infertile married couples or to people suffering from serious diseases such as cancer and want to ensure their reproductive capability after chemotherapy. Egg freezing, or oocyte cryopreservation, is classified as a supplement to IVF treatment in China.

The issue of whether unmarried women are entitled to assisted reproductive treatment has been widely debated in recent years as the country faces a declining birth rate and an aging population. 

Those who are against believed that the relaxation of egg freezing may lead to commercial transactions in this field, breaking moral principles.

Political advisors also shared their concerns over the possible consequences of the relaxation, in that it may further raise the average age at which women get married or become pregnant. "Freezing eggs cannot guarantee a 100 percent successful pregnancy for the future mother, who may seek surrogacy. This will trigger ethical problems," Hua said. 

However, there are always risks and shortcomings, but we should not "stop eating for fear of choking," Hua said, noting that the medical technology for freezing and collecting eggs in hospitals in big cities is mature.

As society develops and moves forward, fertility preservation should become an important right for all women, and it's important to adjust the regulations to improve the overall fertility rate and quality, Jin said. 

Doctors Lu Weiying and Xu Congjian, also members of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), have also submitted proposals for gradually granting egg-freezing access to unmarried women to better preserve and protect their fertility.

Considering the potential risks, Xu, president of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai, proposed partially relaxing the rules for women who have undergone radiotherapy and chemotherapy due to cancer or blood diseases, but wish to get married and have children in the future.