Some local governments are lobbying for subsidies for oocyte cryopreservation — extracting and freezing eggs from women, with legislators asking the Ministry of Health and Welfare to consider the proposal. Egg freezing seems to have become a silver bullet to solve the problem of delayed marriage and childbearing, but is it?
What would the benefits be of subsidizing the process? What would be the purpose of government subsidies in the national budget? Would it increase the birthrate?
Research in many nations has shown that the main reason women have their eggs frozen is not career or study considerations, but the lack of a partner. What about women in Taiwan? What do they say they need the process for? There is a lack of information to refer to, so implementing subsidies to raise the birthrate without relevant data might be a lot of expense in vain — like hunting for teacups at a hardware store.
International studies show that less than 20 percent of people actually use eggs they have had frozen to undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF), while the success rate of IVF is 30 to 40 percent.
Long-term tracking data in research published last year by National Taiwan University Hospital’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Department showed that over the 18 years of the study, fewer than 10 percent of 645 women who had their eggs frozen had them thawed, with 17 of those who did giving birth. That is a success rate of only 2.6 percent.
Is it reasonable or necessary to use government funds to subsidize egg freezing when the usage and the live birth rates are so low? Why not use these funds to improve support for parents or other things?
Another issue is that the regulatory mechanism for egg freezing is lacking. The focus is on the state of the eggs when they are thawed and used, and avoiding situations in which eggs become unusable after being stored for many years.
Moreover, there were cases of equipment malfunctions at reproduction institutions in the US resulting in the loss of eggs and even embryos. There needs to be careful study of the management of egg freezing institutions in Taiwan so that the rights of prospective parents are protected.
There is no specific law regulating egg freezing in Taiwan, with the preservation of reproductive cells falling under the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法), which only applies to women who donate eggs. It does not cover the preservation of eggs for use by the prospective mother.
Moreover, there are no regulations or a supervisory system for institutions that provide egg freezing services. Should there be cases of frozen eggs not being properly preserved, it would become a dispute between the consumer and the institution.
Before it even thinks about subsidizing egg freezing, the government should first improve the supervisory system, including monitoring and management of equipment, tracking data such as the freeze and thaw success rates, health assessments and regulating advertising.
Subsidies should only be implemented after these issues are tackled, otherwise it would be like throwing money in the trash.
The attention on egg freezing might be masking a problem with society. Women are freezing their eggs to preserve their fertility as delayed marriage and childbirth become more common. If the government wants to promote subsidies, it needs to do more assessment and planning instead of throwing money at the issue. It must deal with it substantially.
However, the social impact could be complicated if it acts prudently. The underlying problems of delayed marriage and childbearing should be the focus, not the stop-gap measure of subsidies.
Chen Su-fang is secretary-general of the Taiwan Women’s Link.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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