Chinese woman loses final appeal in her battle to freeze her eggs

A Chinese woman who filed a groundbreaking lawsuit seeking the right to freeze her eggs has lost her final appeal, exhausting all legal avenues in her fight to expand access to fertility treatments in China.

The Beijing No. 3 Intermediate People’s Court ruled that Xu Zaozao’s rights were not violated when Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital refused to freeze her eggs in 2018. Chinese regulations stipulate that assisted reproductive technology is only for married couples with fertility problems. Xu, now 36, said the doctor instead gave her some gentle advice: Hurry up, get married and have children now.

Instead, she sued the hospital, arguing that its denial of treatment violated her basic rights. On August 6, 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 done together,” Xu said in a video posted on social media last week.

Xu’s case has attracted widespread attention. Her trial was the first of its kind in China, and she is seen by many as a feminist pioneer in a country that has closed avenues for legal advocacy in recent years.

The lawsuit comes at a time when China’s birth rate is plummeting, with the government offering various incentives to women and families to have more babies. Several provinces have begun subsidizing IVF treatment for couples through basic health insurance, and the government has pledged to increase the number of IVF facilities across the country.

But the incentives have so far been limited to heterosexual, married couples. And some argue that the rules surrounding gamete freezing are sexist: There are no restrictions on men freezing their sperm. Many single women in China spend tens of thousands of dollars traveling abroad to freeze their eggs.

“While authorities want to encourage women to have more children, they also promote the concept of the 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.

The court’s ruling last week left the door open for a different outcome in the future. “With further adjustment of China’s birth control policy, the relevant medical and health laws and regulations may also undergo corresponding changes, and, when the circumstances 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 monitor 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, to proactively formulate a strategy for the next step.”

Additional research by Chi Hui Lin