A Study On The Constitutionality Of Banning Egg Freezing For Single Women

Egg freezing is a technique in which a woman’s healthy eggs are extracted through reproductive technology,placed in a high concentration of cryoprotectant,then placed in liquid nitrogen,stored at a deep temperature,and thawed for artificial insemination during childbirth.From the perspective of clinical application,egg freezing is mainly based on medical purpose.As technology continues to develop,egg freezing offers hope to single women who want to preserve their fertility.However,the use of this technology by single women is accompanied by many ethical and legal conflicts.Due to the lag of current regulations,many single women who want to use egg freezing technology to maintain fertility in practice are rejected.In the perspective of constitutional studies,to discuss whether the restriction of a certain legislation on basic rights is constitutional,we should first discuss what kind of rights of citizens are restricted and whether the rights fall into the scope of protection of the Constitution.If the right falls into the scope of constitutional protection,the next step is to analyze whether the restriction of the right meets the requirements of the Constitution and whether it can pass the constitutional examination.At present,the restriction of single female egg freezing technology mainly involves the restriction of reproductive rights.Although our Constitution does not explicitly stipulate reproductive rights,it does not mean that reproductive rights are not a basic right protected by the Constitution.The "Human Dignity Clause" and "Human Rights Clause" in the Constitution of China can provide a normative basis for the reproductive rights with basic human rights attributes.Single women freezing eggs belongs to the scope of protection of reproductive rights,and the current Chinese legislation on the prohibition of single women freezing eggs violates the principle of legal reservation and the principle of proportion.Looking into the future,the Law on Artificial Assisted Reproductive Technology should be formulated to clarify the legal attributes of egg freezing,follow the principle of informed consent,and ensure the autonomous status of single women in the process of choosing egg freezing.At the same time,the single women who make their own decision to give birth should accept reasonable restrictions.The single women freezing eggs should coincide with the family planning policy of our country.The ultimate goal can only be to conceive their own biological children,and the commercialization of frozen eggs is strictly prohibited.Medical institutions and individuals involved in the practice of egg freezing shall not illegally trade eggs based on economic benefits.In addition,the age and health status of single women with frozen eggs who need to have children should be strictly examined in view of the health rights of their offspring.