Born to teachers in Alytus, in 1941, she was deported along with her mother and sister to the Altai Krai region of the Soviet Union, where they lived in forced exile until 1948.
She defended her thesis, Изменения кислотно-щелочного равновесия, гликогена и активности пероксидазы в крови плодов и новорожденных при операции кесарева сечения (Changes in Acid-Base Balance, Glycogen and Peroxidase Activity in the Blood of Fetuses and Newborns during Cesarean Section) at Kaunas Medical Institute in 1972.
[1][4] After completing her habilitation on premature birth in 1999,[4][9] Čigriejienė became a full professor at the newly named Kaunas Medical University and head of its gynecologic oncology department.
[4] Successful in her bid, she served as part of the Homeland Union on the Committee on Health Affairs between 2004 and 2008 and from 2005 to 2008 on petitions commission and Women Parliamentary Group.
[10] Among other issues, she proposed legislation for harsher penalties for people who purchased alcohol or cigarettes for minors,[11] student discounts for transportation fares,[12] and burial regulations.
[17] She retained her post to the Committee on Health Affairs and was appointed as deputy chair of the Commission for Ethics and Procedures in 2008, serving throughout her term.
[20][Notes 2] To address the issue of parliamentarians failing to attend sessions Čigriejiene and Algimantas Salamakinas submitted legislation to waive the salary stipend for unexcused absences and establish fixed vacation schedules for all members.
In spite of restrictions of donor sperm, because the small population of the country could lead to children born to close relatives, and of the number of implanted embryos because of the risk to the infants and higher costs associated with multiple births, the proposal did not pass.
[28] In 2013, when a ban on abortion was proposed, Čigriejiene was verbally attacked by a priest, Andrius Narbekovas, during the Health Affairs Committee meeting.
[7] Although against terminations as a method of birth control or for non-medical reasons, she recognized that without legal safe procedures, illegal abortionists would put women in danger of dying.
She supported a woman's right to choose without interference from either the church or state, especially in situations where the mother's life was at risk, or for pregnancy resulting from rape or detection of severe fetal genetic abnormalities, or if the fetus was unable to survive.
[34] Conflicts with her alliance of the Homeland Union and Lithuanian Christian Democrats emerged when the party announced a shift in the way members would be chosen and a preference to introduce younger legislators.
[36] Her bid for a fourth term was unsuccessful, but she continued to be politically involved speaking out on amendments proposed to the assisted reproduction law.