EGG FREEZING: A BREAKTHROUGH FOR REPRODUCTIVE AUTONOMY?

This article describes the relatively new technology of freezing human eggs and examines whether egg freezing, specifically when it is used by healthy women as ‘insurance’ against age-related infertility, is a legitimate exercise of reproductive autonomy. Although egg freezing has the potential to e...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Harwood, Karey (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell 2009
In: Bioethics
Year: 2009, Volume: 23, Issue: 1, Pages: 39-46
Further subjects:B Extend Fertility
B Childbearing
B oocyte cryopreservation
B Autonomy
B egg freezing
B professional women
B American Society for Reproductive Medicine
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Summary:This article describes the relatively new technology of freezing human eggs and examines whether egg freezing, specifically when it is used by healthy women as ‘insurance’ against age-related infertility, is a legitimate exercise of reproductive autonomy. Although egg freezing has the potential to expand women's reproductive options and thus may represent a breakthrough for reproductive autonomy, I argue that without adequate information about likely outcomes and risks, women may be choosing to freeze their eggs in a commercially exploitative context, thus undermining rather than expanding reproductive autonomy.
ISSN:1467-8519
Contains:Enthalten in: Bioethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8519.2008.00680.x