women's autonomy, reproductive justice, and social egg freezing
- Categories
- Article/Artikel
- Magazine Title
- Tijdschrift voor genderstudies
- Magazine Year
- 2019
- Magazine Number
- 4
- Creator
- Proost, Michiel de
- Creator
- Coene, Gily
- Thesaurus
- geboorteregeling, ethiek, 21e eeuw
- Description
- A growing number of women in different countries are freezing their eggs as a way to preserve fertility not just for medical reasons, but for what have been referred to as 'lifestyle' or 'social' reasons. Ethical debates so far have often focused on reproductive autonomy and gender inequalities in society. Based on a critical analysis of the available studies that explore women's experiences, the authors conclude that women's choice to freeze their eggs is much more ambiguous than mainstream approaches to bioethics usually suggest. Furthermore, they point to a gap in the literature of social egg freezing regarding issues that still need to be further explored, such as the outcomes and quality of treatment for non-normative users. Expanding the debate with an intersectional analysis makes visible how techniques such as social egg freezing fit into, and contribute to societies.