独身女性の卵子凍結禁止の中国、女性が病院を提訴

【北京ＡＦＰ＝時事】独身女性の卵子凍結保存が禁止されている中国で、ある女性が卵子凍結を拒否した病院を相手取って裁判を起こし、23日に首都北京の裁判所で非公開の初審理に臨んだ。同国でこの禁止規定をめぐり訴訟が起こされたのは、今回が初めて。（写真は資料写真）
　フリーランスの編集者として働くテレサ・シューさん（３１）は昨年、北京のある有名病院で卵子の凍結保存を希望したところ断られ、「結婚して早く子どもを産みなさい」と言われたという。
　「出産するかどうかという決断を下す年齢が高くなっているため、卵子の凍結保存は既婚・独身を問わず、中国の若い女性の間で大きな需要がある」とＡＦＰに語ったシューさん。「でも不公平な法律のせいで、病院は独身女性を拒否している」と指摘している。
　同国の規定では、がんなど健康上の理由がない限り、結婚していない女性の卵子凍結は禁止されている。
　シューさんは、全国人民代表大会（全人代、国会に相当）の来年３月の大会で、独身女性が直面する生殖に関する制限を議題に上げてもらえるよう、ある代表に請願書を送ったことも明らかにした。
　中国の独身女性は、卵子凍結以外にも、体外受精（ＩＶＦ）や精子バンクといった、生殖補助医療技術の享受がほぼ認められていない。
　こういった制約は、中国共産党が一人っ子政策で出産を厳しく制限していた時代を想起させる。
　中国政府は近年、出生率の向上を目指している。２０１６年には、夫婦１組につき子ども２人をもうけることを認めたが、独身女性が出産を届け出ようとする際には、依然差別や法律上の障害に直面する。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2019/12/27-10:49）

A single woman in China has gone to court challenging rules that forbid unmarried women from freezing their eggs in the first case of its kind in the country.
Teresa Xu said she was prompted to take legal action after a top hospital in Beijing declined to freeze her eggs last year, and instead told her to get married, and have a child soon.
There is a huge demand among young women in China -- whether married or single -- to freeze their eggs as they delay the decision to have a child, Xu told AFP.
But clinics refuse single women, because of unfair laws.
Chinese regulations forbid unmarried women from freezing their eggs unless they have a health reason, such as cancer.
A Beijing court on Monday agreed to hear Xu's case against the hospital, nearly six months after it was filed.
The 31-year old, who works as a freelance editor, said she had also written to a member of China's parliament, hoping that the issue of reproductive restrictions faced by unmarried women could be raised when the legislature meets in March.
Unmarried women in China are also largely barred from accessing assisted reproductive technologies including in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment or sperm banks.
The restrictions hark back to a time when the Communist party attempted to strictly control population growth with its one-child policy.
The Chinese government has attempted to boost birth rates in recent years, allowing all couples to have two children from 2016, but single mothers still face discrimination and legal hurdles when attempting to register a birth.
- 'Immense pressure' -
Xu said many of her peers were postponing marriage and seeking options abroad to freeze their eggs.
Many women in their 30s are under immense pressure to get married and have a child. But many don't want to do so because they are afraid their careers will stagnate or (they will) face discrimination in the workplace, she said.
It costs about 100,000 yuan ($14,000) in Thailand and about 200,000 in the US, compared to just 20,000 yuan if done in China.
The marriage rate in China has been in decline over the last five years, and the country is grappling with one of the lowest fertility rates in the world.
Monday's closed-door hearing lasted for about an hour, according to a statement on the official social media account of Beijing Chaoyang People's Court.
Xu said the next hearing will be in January, although a date hasn't been announced.
I am still hopeful about this case, she said. Even if I lose I feel the process is more important than the result.
Xu said she hasn't decided to have a child or get married.
I don't want to have a child for the time being, but I will think about it in the future, she said.
I just hope that I leave myself the right to choose.