Zwischen Technikglaube und Selbstbestimmung – Einfrieren von Eizellen gesunder Frauen in der ethischen Debatte

Between Technophilia and Autonomy – The ethical debate on egg freezing for healthy women

by Stephanie Bernstein
Doctoral thesis
Date of Examination:2016-09-14
Date of issue:2016-09-01
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Claudia Wiesemann
Referee:Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Himmel
Referee:Prof. Dr. Margarete Schön
Persistent Address: http://dx.doi.org/10.53846/goediss-5839

 

 

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Abstract

English

Cryopreservation of oocytes for healthy women (KOMI, Kryokonservierung von Oozyten ohne medizinische Indikation), often referred to as “social freezing” in the media, is becoming a more realistic option for women due to technical advance. As one result, KOMI has gained a significant coverage by the Western media within the last years. Enthusiastic descriptions praising women’s equality and empowerment by the media are contrasted with a much more skeptical evaluation of this technique by sociologists and ethicists in the academic discourse. Matters of concern relate to the individual woman as well as to possible changes of the society as a whole. Late motherhood and child well-being are analyzed critically, in particular because of the high risks for the mother and the child. Safety and efficacy of the technique are also often a matter of concern. In my work, I analyze the critical arguments of diminished autonomy, equality, late motherhood and child well-being with regard to KOMI from an ethical perspective. Furthermore, I present the data of a quantitative empirical research conducted in 2011. I asked specialists in reproductive medicine (SRM) to evaluate clinical use, moral and legal aspects of KOMI. In a last step, I combine and discuss ethical and empirical findings in a context-sensitive analysis. Results show that SRM already provide KOMI in Germany. In contrast to the critics, SRM and current data suggest an acceptable risk of KOMI for mother and future child. I show that the autonomy of the women involved is not compromised per se and that equality is an appropriate argument to justify the use of KOMI. The negative ethical evaluation of late motherhood is partly due to a biased approach highlighting only the medical risks for the female body and stereotypical perception of motherhood.
Keywords: egg freezing; medical ethics; autonomy; equality; postmenopausal motherhood; well-being of the child; reproductive medicine
Schlagwörter: Kryokonservierung; Oozyte; Medizinethik; Autonomie; Gleichheit; Postmenopausale Mutterschaft; Kindeswohl; Reproduktionsmedizin
 
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