(Un)social egg freezing

Authors: Johanna Fischer-Proier and Gisela Ernst

The desire to have children remains unattainable for single women in Austria!

Starting point: blanket ban on social egg freezing unconstitutional

In its decision of October 6th, 2025, G 52/2025, the Austrian Constitutional Court repealed the current regulation on so-called “social egg freezing,” which had been subject to a blanket ban in Austria, due to a violation of Article 8 ECHR (right to respect for private life).

In its reasoning, the Constitutional Court stated, among other things, that “the freedom of choice regarding (the manner of) reproduction protected by Article 8 ECHR […] means in the present context that the decision on the retrieval and storage of eggs must be made by the woman herself on her own responsibility. It is therefore up to her to obtain the information necessary for her decision and to weigh up the relevant reasons for and against carrying out the measures.”

The legislator now has until April 1st, 2027, to enact a new constitutionally compliant regulation, which in any case must no longer provide for a blanket ban; however, according to the Constitutional Court, the legislator has considerable leeway in this regard.

Ban on artificial insemination for single women

However, the freedom of choice for women, which is given very high priority in this decision, is already significantly worse when it comes to the subsequent question of the permissibility of using the frozen eggs (more precisely, oocytes).

Even if eggs may be frozen in the future without medical indication so that they can be used later for artificial insemination, many women will be excluded from this option: namely, all those who are single.

Austrian law currently permits all medically assisted reproduction measures regulated by the Reproductive Medicine Act (FMedG) “only within a marriage, a registered partnership, or a cohabitation relationship” (section 2(1) FMedG). As a result, this means for single women in Austria: no partner, no child. However, due to changing role models, numerous women now live without marriage, registered partnership, or cohabitation – and still want to have children.

In practice, those affected often seek help abroad, as artificial insemination using sperm donation is also permitted for single women in various countries neighboring Austria.

Proceedings before the Constitutional Court – “Solo Mothers by Choice”

The exact wording that prohibits this, as well as further wordings in the FMedG, are currently the subject of another proceeding before the Constitutional Court (G 145/2025). The court was called upon by those affected, supported by the association “Solo Mothers by Choice.” The applicants must demonstrate that their rights are directly affected by this legal situation and that there is no other reasonable alternative for them to appeal to the Constitutional Court. In their application, the applicants point out that developments in Europe show a clear trend toward opening up medically assisted reproduction also to single women, and that the concerns often raised regarding the welfare of the child have not stood in the way of such an opening in other European states. As a result, the current restriction on access constitutes, in their view, a discrimination against single women that cannot be objectively justified, and a violation of their right to private and family life.

If the Constitutional Court considers the application admissible, it will have to examine the question of whether the restrictions on fundamental rights associated with the ban on artificial insemination for single women (in particular Article 8 ECHR, the right to respect for private life, and Article 7 B-VG as well as Article 2 of the StGG [Basic Law on the General Rights of Nationals], the principle of equality) are proportionate. To this end, the Constitutional Court will have to weigh up the various pros and cons of this legal provision and examine whether it is still appropriate (also in light of changed social realities and values) to exclude single women from artificial insemination.

The decision is eagerly awaited in 2026.

Our health law experts will be pleased to provide practical support as well as keep you up to date on all these developments and are available to answer any further questions you may have on these topics (especially for complex proceedings before the Constitutional Court).

Disclaimer

This article is for general information only and does not replace legal advice. Haslinger / Nagele Rechtsanwälte GmbH assumes no liability for the content and correctness of this article.