Procreative rights denied? Access to assisted reproduction technologies by single women in China

The Chinese regulatory framework on access to assisted reproduction technologies (hereafter ART) is relatively restrictive, limiting ART exclusively to heterosexual married couples as a medical treatment for infertility. ART clinics across China are prohibited from providing ART services for single women. This creates significant regulatory barrier for single women to exercise their procreative rights. The restriction finds its root in the population and family planning law under which reproduction is tied to marriage and childbirth outside marriage are deemed as illegitimate with punishing consequences. It essentially denies the procreative rights of single women which are recognized by Chinese law. A welcoming development is that in seven out of 10 cases the court is willing to grant exceptions by allowing posthumous implantation procedure for widowed women after the sudden and unexpected death of the husband.