Eggs on Ice: The Emerging Fertility Issue

At the dawn of the 21st century in the majority of developed western countries, the consensus is that there has never been a better time to be a woman. Since suffragettes, females have been empowered to break free of past constraints and within the last century, gender equality has steadily progressed. Females in New Zealand play a paramount role in the democratic governing of the citizens, have shattered the “ glass ceiling” and the housewives of yesterday have emerged into multi-tasking, career women. It was once an accepted norm that “ the woman's place is in the house”. Gloria Schaffer, former Connecticut secretary of state argues “ the woman's place is in the House- and in the Senate.” While as a young female I should feel gratified by the emergence of such feminism, I instead question the underlying population issue this presents. Career women of today who believe themselves to be well informed and well educated on the biotechnological advances state “ I'll just freeze my eggs and reproduce later” as if it were what Mother Nature intended. But what are the consequences this presents? What impacts will this create ethically and sociologically on the future population of New Zealand? Women today have fought their way to higher places on the career ladder, but should they really be “setting” their own biological clock?

But what exactly is this “eggs on ice” phenomena and what does it involve? The female must first stop taking the birth control pill and complete a full menstrual cycle before undergoing treatment, submit to several medical check up ( including an ovarian reserve test) and have daily hormone injections ( with side effects) for up to seven weeks. Eggs are then extracted and frozen in liquid nitrogen ready to be retrieved, thawed, fertilised and placed into the uterus via a surgical procedure at a more suitable time for childbirth. On top of the medical burden, the total cost is approximately $NZ10,000 and cannot be carried out in New Zealand at the present time. Where it poses an issue for New Zealand is due to our close relationship ( both geographically and otherwise) with Australia. Australian fertility clinics willingly offer their services to New Zealand visitors as long as they can present with appropriate circumstances per the Australian criteria. As the years go by, more and more New Zealand women are considering it as a feasible option without being properly educated on the risks involved. They're putting off childbirth again and again with a false sense of security. The egg freezing revolution has only just begun but already there is an increase women delaying their motherhood in favour of freedom filled lifestyles- particularly singles who do not have partners in which to freeze an entire embryo with (a far more effective option) or those who aren't sure whether they've met a suitable man to have their children with. While they all seem to have their excuses for wanting to delay children, is the chase for “ Mr Right” or the desire to reach CEO before the age of 32 any reason for not doing adequate research on this option these women think they have?

“ There is an amazing amount of ignorance about the subject” says Sandra Dill, CEO of ACCESS, an infertility support network. Unfortunately, she is correct. In a recent survey of women of childbearing age in early 2007, an alarming 32% already would consider freezing their eggs to delay parent responsibilities and inconvenience. However, of those 32%, early three quarters claimed to have “little ” background knowledge on its effectiveness or availability.

“Many women- and even some doctors- are under the impression egg freezing is a viable way to delay pregnancy” say Dr Kelton Tremellen, clinical director of Repromed, a fertility clinic based in Adelaide, “ In truth, the technology is very experimental and for every 100 eggs frozen, only two live births will result.” Sadly, he too is correct. To date there have only been 200 live births world-wide.

While it is true that reproductive technology is improving, the ethical and sociological issues of allowing women to procrastinate in having children still remain. Whilst it is a common perceptive that having adequate means ( the money e.t.c) when the technological advances have developed make it their right to have access to it, many will discover they will in fact be refused treatment. Due to the fact that you can freeze entire embryos if you have an appropriate partner which have a 25% rate of achieving pregnancy ( egg freezing has only a 1-2% rate), the egg freezing option is only really attractive to single women who are wanting to put their eggs on ice for social reasons. Chances are they will be refused. If a women is wanting to put their eggs on ice because they just aren't ready to settle down, the clinic is likely to dismiss them as socially infertile and discharge their case. Even those who are waiting due to career reasons are far from being assured the procedure.

Therefore, women should not be taken it as a given that they will be able to rely on this treatment to reproduce. If they are really going to prove to be even adequate parents then surely they would be prepared to place their alcohol reliant ,multiple partner social life and even their careers on hold for the sake of guaranteeing their child's live birth and health? It is time these “ yuppies” consider the adverse affects on the population cycle of New Zealand- not to mention the array of issues for their child- and accept the fact that in reality the only viable alternative to egg freezing is to simply conceive while you're young, healthy and fertile. Whilst this is clearly an option more easily said than done, it will go a long way in preventing what has the potential to create a major population crisis in the generation to come in New Zealand. With a population of only 4 million, New Zealand can afford it's 1950's baby boom, but the baby recession that this would create would certainly have unwelcome effects, including a slowing in the national economy, among, of course, the ethical issues.

We cannot afford to ruin our natural population trends which influence almost all aspects of New Zealand life. We cannot run from nature forever. So why don't we just accept it?