Infertility

"You can see the purposes for somebody who is undergoing treatment for cancer, but doing it simply because the woman is getting older doesn't seem to me to be a good use of resources, because as she gets older she has such a small chance of getting pregnant, and there are questions about looking after the interests of the child who has a mother who is so much older." Melbourne University medical ethicist Leslie Cannold says that if women received adequate social support, such as maternity leave and child care, they would not need to turn to such methods.

She is "appalled and exasperated" by the extra things a woman now needs to do to have a baby.

Then there are the legal ramifications.

Fertility is heavily regulated in Victoria and despite what technology will eventually be able to achieve, the law will still act as a barrier for single women.

In this state, a single woman cannot undergo fertility treatment unless she proves she is clinically infertile (the Victorian Law Reform Commission has recommended that this should change).

So while there is nothing stopping her from freezing her eggs, if she gives up on ever finding a man, the law as it stands now won't permit her to use them.

The But authority chairman Professor Jock Findlay says it's up to the community and "our political people" to decide what's rig...

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