Preservação da fertilidade em mulheres saudáveis: técnicas, riscos e limites legais

Abstract

The social preservation of fertility consists of the use of technologies in the field of reproductive medicine, for the purpose of cryopreserving genetic material (gametes, tissues and embryos) of healthy people - thus understood those without a previous diagnosis of the need for fertility assistance -, aiming at enabling the posterior reproductive viability. Such phenomenon arises from contemporary yearnings for maintaining the possibility of procreation with their own genetic material, overcoming the barrier of decreased fertility, caused, above all, by advancing age. With regard to women, there is a constant change in their role in society, as a result of intense and constant battles for equal rights and opportunities, a factor that, at times, can boost the search for methods capable of ensuring fertility even in late reproductive age. It is noteworthy that expanding access to assisted reproduction and the social preservation of fertility is both a matter of social justice and the promotion of gender equality. The present study, therefore, is dedicated to analyzing the methods currently available for the social preservation of female fertility, also identifying, albeit initially, ethical and legal issues that permeate the subject.