Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced on August 9 that she is freezing her eggs as she weighs her next political moves, including a potential 2028 presidential or Senate run. The 36-year-old New York congresswoman posted videos on social media detailing the fertility procedure, saying the decision allows her to “feel more in control of my life.”
Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged she was taking a “political risk” in discussing such a personal matter publicly. In an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, she explained her reasoning: she wants to normalize conversations about what women face in both their professional and personal lives, particularly in the context of political leadership.
“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?'” she said, according to PBS News. “But women face very different standards and scrutiny about their family status.”
She did not explicitly say whether she plans to have children but made clear that freezing her eggs was a deliberate choice to preserve her options. She has not ruled out running for president or for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democratic floor leader Chuck Schumer of New York in 2028.
Ocasio-Cortez linked the announcement directly to her advocacy on reproductive rights. She said that in the current political environment, where the Trump administration is restricting access to reproductive care, political leaders have a responsibility to discuss these issues openly. “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, per PBS.
The context for her statement runs deep. Trump’s appointees to the Supreme Court provided the deciding votes in the 2022 ruling that struck down Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion that had stood for nearly 50 years. Ocasio-Cortez had sponsored a Democratic bill in 2022, when her party controlled the House, to codify abortion rights into federal law in response to that decision.
The congresswoman noted that she had been saving for the procedure for a long time, as egg freezing is often not covered by insurance and can be expensive. She said she would document the process on social media, framing it as a way to help normalize fertility preservation discussions among women facing similar decisions.
Her announcement comes amid broader national conversation about reproductive rights under the Trump administration. Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order designed to lower the costs of in vitro fertilization, even as his administration has pursued policies that critics say restrict access to reproductive care more broadly.
Sources
- PBS News — Ocasio-Cortez’s statements about freezing her eggs, her decision to normalize conversations about women’s fertility and family planning, her comments on gender standards in politics, and her 2028 political options.
- The Washington Post — Ocasio-Cortez’s announcement that she is freezing her eggs to feel more in control of her life and that she had been saving for the procedure.
- NBC News — Confirmation that Ocasio-Cortez has not ruled out a 2028 presidential or Senate run.
- USA Today — Reporting on Ocasio-Cortez’s 2028 political considerations and her egg-freezing announcement.
- CNN — Coverage of the egg-freezing process and Ocasio-Cortez’s decision to feel more in control of her life.
