An unmarried Chinese woman has filed a suit against a hospital for rejecting her request to undergo a medical procedure to freeze her eggs due to her marital status, in China's first legal challenge of a woman fighting for her reproductive rights.

Key points: Teresa Xu, 31, said a Beijing doctor urged her to have a child instead of freezing her eggs

Teresa Xu, 31, said a Beijing doctor urged her to have a child instead of freezing her eggs She wants to freeze her eggs so she can focus on her career as a writer on gender issues

She wants to freeze her eggs so she can focus on her career as a writer on gender issues China's laws on human-assisted reproduction state that only married couples can use such health services

China's laws on human-assisted reproduction state that only married couples can use such health services, and they must be able to prove their marital status by showing a marriage licence.

Teresa Xu, 31, visited the Beijing Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital at Capital Medical University in November 2018, wanting to freeze her eggs while she focused on her career as a writer on gender issues.

Eggs deteriorate in quality as a woman ages, presenting obstacles to conception as time goes on.

Eggs, once frozen, can stay so for decades depending on an individual country or region's laws. ( Reuters: Alessandro Bianchi )

Through a medical procedure, a woman's eggs can be removed from her ovaries and frozen for use at a later time.

Ms Xu, from north-eastern Heilongjiang province, said on her first visit to the hospital for a check-up, the doctor asked about her marital status and urged her to have a child now instead of freezing her eggs.

Upon her second visit, the doctor told her she could not proceed any further.

"I came here for a professional service, but instead I got someone who was urging me to put aside my work and to have a child first," she said.

"I have already received a lot of this pressure in this society, this culture."

When asked by Reuters to comment, the hospital declined, saying it could not speak to international media.

Chinese social policy doesn't reflect women's reality

Many privileged Chinese women travel abroad to undergo fertility treatment. ( Reuters: Jason Lee )

China's rapid economic growth has created the conditions for single women to become financially independent, but the country's policies and medical industry have not necessarily kept pace.

"This is a systemic issue, because the system has brought this difficult position for single women," Ms Xu said.

She considered illegal clinics.

The women's bathroom door at the hospital, Ms Xu said, was filled with these ads.

But ultimately she decided against it.

Ms Xu said there was a raft of illegal clinics operating in China to help single women with fertility treatment. ( Reuters: Florence Lo )

Those who could afford it had circumvented China's strict laws on fertility by going abroad.

Ms Xu said she had made enquiries but found it too expensive.

Agents told her a treatment in Thailand would cost about 100,000 yuan ($20,637) and 200,000 yuan if she wanted to undergo the treatment in the United States.

Ms Xu said her case was expected to go on for several months.

"I personally feel that being able to arrive at this stage is already a sort of win," she said.

"For me, I didn't feel like I was at court as an individual. I felt I was standing there with the weight of many other single women's expectations."

Reuters