Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation: A Window into the Reproductive Justice Concerns Underlying Assisted Reproductive Technologies

More regulatory framework is needed for assisted reproductive technologies. Taken together, the high costs of fertility treatment, lack of widespread insurance coverage, and social perceptions of motherhood make it nearly impossible for women from traditionally marginalized backgrounds to collectively overcome barriers of access to fertility treatments. Viewing the ovarian tissue cryopreservation procedure through a reproductive justice framework illustrates an inherent dichotomy between increasing availability and increasing access to assisted reproductive technologies. This Comment explores the current regulation—or lack thereof—of assisted reproductive technologies; advocates for the regulation of ovarian tissue cryopreservation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; scrutinizes the failings of the insurance industry’s coverage of infertility treatments; and exposes a common ideology that a woman’s social worth is intimately linked to her reproductive capabilities and destined motherhood