新奇事件簿 英国为女雇员提供卵子冰冻福利（在线收听）

Female workers in the UK are to be offered an unusual perk by their employers. British companies are considering offering egg freezing as a perk. Tech companies like Apple and Facebook already offer egg freezing as a benefit to female employees, and now other companies may follow the tech giants' lead. Many British companies are in talks with IVF clinics about providing the option of egg freezing to women. The UK's largest chain of fertility clinics, CARE Fertility, said it has been in discussion with several high-profile employers. The perk comes at a considerable cost to employers. Apple and Facebook have been offering subsidized egg freezing to female staff at a cost of up to 16,000 pounds($20,000) per employee.

英国的雇主将为女性雇员提供非同寻常的福利。英国公司正考虑提供卵子冰冻服务作为额外津贴。苹果和脸书等科技公司已经为女性雇员提供了卵子冰冻福利，现在，其他公司可能会效仿这两家科技巨头的做法。许多英国公司正与IVF诊所对话，商讨为女性提供卵子冰冻服务的事宜。英国最大生育保健组织Care Fertility表示，他们正在与几家高级公司讨论。对雇主来说，该津贴是一笔不菲的费用。苹果和脸书向女性雇员提供卵子冰冻津贴的成本为每人1.6万英镑。

Companies will provide the egg-freezing perk to allow women in their 20s or 30s to focus on their careers. The idea is that women could make use of their frozen eggs in their 40s when they meet the right partner or are financially stable. Rob Smith, clinical director of CARE London, said: "Successful pregnancy at that age is very low indeed so by freezing eggs earlier on they will just have that guarantee at the back of their mind." Mr Smith said the perk was also an option for couples wanting to conceive later in life. Critics of the idea said it was wrong to prioritise careers over having children. One said: "When [IVF] is done purely to protect their job, I think it's extraordinary that women think this is liberating."

公司提供卵子冰冻福利，可以让20多岁或30多岁的女性专心于事业。该理念是为了让那些40多岁时才遇到合适的伴侣或经济比较稳定的女性使用冰冻的卵子。CARE London医疗主任Rob Smith表示：“40多岁的女性成功受孕率非常低，所以，通过提前冰冻卵子，她们就有了后盾，有了保障。”Smith表示，该津贴对于想要等年龄大一点再生小孩的夫妻也是不错的选择。批评者则表示，将事业放在孩子之前是错误的。其中一人说：“IVF认为他们的做法单纯是为了保护工作岗位，我却认为女性会觉得她们得到了解放。”