China’s falling birth rate prompts call to allow single women to freeze eggs

Xu Congjian, a member of the top political advisory body, says policies on assisted reproductive technology should be ‘moderately liberalised’

It’s among ideas being floated to lift the birth rate after the country reported a population decline last year for the first time in six decades

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Lawmakers are considering ways to boost China’s shrinking population after the country recorded its lowest ever birth rate last year. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:00pm, 3 Mar 2023

A member of China’s top political advisory body has called on Beijing to relax a ban on single women freezing their eggs, amid growing efforts on the mainland to boost the birth rate.

Xu Congjian, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said policies on assisted reproductive technology – such as egg freezing – should be “moderately liberalised”.

“Under certain conditions, unmarried women above a certain age who are unable to bear children but have a strong desire to preserve their fertility can consider assisted reproductive technology,” Xu told Shanghai-based news outlet The Paper on Wednesday.

“But it should also be stressed that it should not be completely liberalised,” said Xu, who also heads Fudan University’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital.

Xu’s suggestion comes amid a greater push in China to lift the birth rate after the country reported a decline in its population last year for the first time in six decades. China recorded its lowest ever birth rate in 2022, at 6.77 births per 1,000 people.

It also comes ahead of the annual CPPCC session, which begins on Saturday.