Sándor Judit, Vicsek Lilla, Bauer Zsófia
Faculty of Political Science, Legal Studies and Gender Studies of the Central European University (CEU), Nádor u. 9, Budapest, Hungary.
Institute of Sociology and Social Policy, Corvinus University of Budapest, Közraktár u. 4-6, Budapest, 1093, Hungary.
Med Health Care Philos. 2018 Sep;21(3):311-323. doi: 10.1007/s11019-017-9805-y.
In this paper, by applying a feminist bioethical perspective, we identify a new form of medical paternalism that still shapes contemporary legal policies on human egg cryopreservation performed without medical reasons. The fear of negligent, careless women who opt to delay their pregnancy for mere convenience is a widely known gender biased stereotype. Nevertheless, the opinions and judgments of medical professionals on this issue have not yet been sufficiently explored by in-depth research. In this essay, therefore, first we look at the broader bioethical, legal, and social aspects of human egg cryopreservation. In the second part of the paper we discuss a unique qualitative study conducted with professionals working at Hungarian IVF clinics. We argue, based on a bioethical analysis of the collected data, that when new reproduction technologies provide opportunities for women to widen their range of reproductive choices, the traditional forms of medical paternalism can be reinforced by gendered paternalism, as well. We identify several elements of gendered paternalism that characterized the attitudes of the IVF staff and discuss the professionals' resistance to elective egg freezing and vitrification of eggs for the future. We conclude by suggesting directions for future policy. Although we focus on the Hungarian case in this paper, we are aware that similar attitudes can be observed in some other countries where this technology has become available and requested by women, but where they also face difficulties in their access to it.
在本文中，通过运用女性主义生物伦理学视角，我们识别出一种新的医学家长主义形式，它仍在塑造当代关于无医学理由进行人类卵子冷冻保存的法律政策。对那些仅仅为了方便而选择推迟怀孕的疏忽、粗心女性的恐惧，是一种广为人知的性别偏见刻板印象。然而，医学专业人员在这个问题上的观点和判断尚未得到深入研究的充分探讨。因此，在本文中，首先我们审视人类卵子冷冻保存更广泛的生物伦理、法律和社会层面。在论文的第二部分，我们讨论了一项对匈牙利试管婴儿诊所工作人员进行的独特定性研究。基于对所收集数据的生物伦理分析，我们认为，当新的生殖技术为女性提供扩大其生殖选择范围的机会时，传统形式的医学家长主义也可能会因性别化家长主义而得到强化。我们识别出了一些体现试管婴儿工作人员态度的性别化家长主义要素，并讨论了专业人员对选择性卵子冷冻和卵子玻璃化以备未来使用的抵制。我们通过提出未来政策的方向来得出结论。尽管本文聚焦于匈牙利的案例，但我们意识到，在其他一些国家也能观察到类似的态度，在这些国家，这项技术已可供女性使用并被她们所需求，但她们在获取该技术方面也面临困难。
