Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York posted a series of video clips on social media Saturday night saying that she would freeze her eggs despite what she called a “political risk” for sharing her decision.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, 36, a Democrat who represents parts of Queens and the Bronx, said she had shared the information “to show more depictions of women having full lives in every context and every choice.”
“Usually I keep my private life quite private, but I have made the decision to start freezing my eggs,” she said.
“There is very strangely a political risk, or a political tax, that comes with sharing this info,” she added. “Per usual, that doesn’t influence my ultimate decision.”
Egg freezing can be a lengthy, expensive process that is not always covered by health insurance. It requires women to inject two to three hormone medications every day for roughly 10 days, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Women must also have at least four pelvic ultrasounds and frequent bloodwork panels. When the eggs mature, women undergo surgery to retrieve them.
On social media, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez described her ability to make the decision to freeze her eggs as a “very privileged position.”
“And it’s also a result of I think changes in technology that have made it more financially accessible,” she added.
In an interview Sunday morning, the congresswoman elaborated on her announcement, calling it “badass that I’m going to be giving myself shots in the green room.”
“In this political environment, where this administration is denying reproductive care to women across the country, from abortion rights to the ability to carry out a healthy pregnancy, I think it’s important for us as leaders to have these conversations,” she said during an interview with Jonathan Karl on the ABC News show “This Week.”
As of Sunday morning, it did not appear that President Trump or her colleagues in Congress had responded to her announcement.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who supports abortion rights, has been vocal regarding her stance on reproductive rights. In July 2022, the House of Representatives passed the Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill she sponsored to codify abortion rights into federal law after the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and several other members of Congress were arrested the same month at an abortion rights rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington.
In one of the videos she posted on Saturday, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said that, unlike men, women in the workplace faced questions about when, or if, they will have children.
“This is just not something that men deal with,” she continued. “Men run for office, or frankly they interview for jobs. And people don’t think in the back of their minds, OK, this guy’s running for office, how old is he, oh, well, is he going to want to start a family?”