A Chinese woman who filed a groundbreaking lawsuit to win the right to freeze her eggs has lost her final appeal, exhausting the legal avenues in her fight to widen access to fertility treatment in China.
Beijing No 3 intermediate people’s court ruled that Xu Zaozao’s rights had not been violated when Beijing obstetrics and gynaecology hospital refused to freeze her eggs in 2018. Chinese regulations stipulate that assisted reproductive technology is only for married couples with fertility issues. Xu, now 36, said the doctor gave her some friendly advice instead: hurry up, get married and have children now.
Instead, she sued the hospital. She argued that the denial of treatment violated her basic rights. On 6 August, nearly five years after she first filed her lawsuit, she lost her final appeal.
“Regardless of the outcome, I am proud of what we have been doing together,” Xu said in a video posted on social media last week.
Xu’s case has attracted widespread attention. Her lawsuit was the first of its kind in China, and she is seen by many as a feminist pioneer in a country that in recent years has closed down the avenues for legal advocacy.
The lawsuit has rumbled on at a time when China’s birthrate has been plummeting, with the government offering various incentives to women and families to have more babies. Several provinces have started subsidising IVF treatment for couples through basic medical insurance and the government has promised to increase the number of IVF facilities across the country.
But the incentives are so far limited to heterosexual, married couples. And some argue that the rules around gamete freezing are sexist: there are no restrictions on men freezing their sperm. Many single women in China spend tens of thousands of dollars travelling overseas to freeze their eggs.
“Although the authorities aim to encourage women to have more children, they also promote the concept of a nuclear family – married couples with children – as the foundation of society, believing it supports social stability,” said Lijia Zhang, a writer who focuses on women in China.
Last week’s court ruling left the door open for a different outcome in future. “With further adjustment of China’s birth policy, the relevant medical and health laws and regulations may also undergo corresponding changes and, when the conditions are ready, Xu and the relevant medical institutions may separately resolve the corresponding disputes,” the judgment said.
In her video, Xu said she had not given up her fight. “Losing in the second trial is not the end of the story. I will continue to keep an eye on the issue of single women’s right to freeze their eggs and will seek advice from a wide range of professionals, including academics and lawyers, in order to proactively formulate a strategy for the next step.”
Additional research by Chi Hui Lin
