Evaluating Elective Egg Freezing Consent Materials From Canadian Fertility Clinics

<p dir="ltr">The use of elective egg freezing (EEF) has rapidly increased in recent years. Despite its popularity, scholars have documented a host of concerns in relation to the use of this technology, especially given aggressive advertising of EEF by the fertility industry as “insurance” and lack of data about success rates. Informed consent processes, and informed consent materials, are particularly important in situations like EEF where healthy people are undergoing interventions that are neither life nor health preserving. Despite these concerns necessitating a rigorous consent process, no research in Canada has explored consent processes surrounding EEF at Canadian fertility clinics to assess whether they are meeting this heightened standard. In this paper, I analyze EEF consent forms and accompanying materials collected from 11 Canadian fertility clinics. I assess the extent to which the consent forms and accompanying materials adhere to a seven-part ethical framework for minimum standards of disclosure for EEF that I argue is supported by Canadian legislation, regulations, guidelines, case law and Health Professions Appeal and Review Board (HPARB) decisions on informed consent. Ultimately, I found that consent processes for EEF rely on an unstandardized patchwork of information sources. Clinic consent forms and accompanying materials do not adhere to minimum elements of disclosure for consent for EEF and, in many cases, do not adhere to existing law, guidelines and HPARB decisions governing these consent processes in Canada. I argue that an overhaul is needed to ensure that people freezing their eggs have the basic information they need to make informed decisions and make recommendations for how to further regulate EEF consent processes.</p>