Social implications
At the biologically optimal age for pregnancy – between 20 and 25 years – the average woman in a western industrialized nation is generally more likely to be in education or at the beginning of her career than in a married or illegitimate partnership. Therefore, only in individual cases does intentional motherhood occur. The emancipated woman is expected to match her husband in education and career advancement.
In addition, the lack of extended family associations and sufficient social and governmental support for childcare in Germany means that the family and professional activities of both parents cannot coexist without problems. Many couples decide only “at the last minute” to start a family, which then often turns out to be quite meager in terms of numbers. The possibility of freezing an egg undoubtedly gives the individual woman more freedom in her family planning, so that the founding or expansion of the family can be postponed beyond the natural fertility phase.
It is problematic that the existence of this possibility (especially if the costs are covered by the employer, for example) also makes it possible for society’s expectations of the woman to actually take advantage of this option, for example, in order to devote herself to a job in her “best” years and not to starting a family. Whether the compatibility of work and family is then more likely to be achieved at the age of 40 or even 50 seems highly questionable.From a medical point of view, however, it is strictly discouraged to postpone starting a family until after retirement or retirement age. Younger parents are also generally better equipped than “spry” seniors to overcome the hurdles of raising and educating children.
It remains to be seen to what extent the existence of the possibility of freezing a human egg cell for the purpose of delayed, artificial reproduction is desirable from an ethical point of view, and to what extent exercising this option makes sense socially. In summary, it can only be said that the procedure of cryopreservation has left the experimental stage in medical technology and is routinely possible, but not risk-free. Biologically, on the other hand, a natural pregnancy at 20 to 25 years of age (except in exceptional cases such as cancer) is always superior to and therefore preferable to late maternity using reproductive medical measures.
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