New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t shy away from difficult conversations.
The 36-year-old Democrat, who represents parts of Queens and the Bronx, announced on social media that she is freezing her eggs even though she knew she’d get blowback for sharing such personal information.
“There is very strangely a political risk, or a political tax, that comes with sharing this info,” she said of her decision, but she continued that she wants “to show more depictions of women having full lives in every context and every choice.”
The congresswoman, who has been outspoken about reproductive rights and who sponsored a bill in 2022 to codify abortion rights into federal law after Roe v. Wade was overturned, said that women in general don’t have enough information about different stages of life — including puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause.
“We are not taught about our bodies,” she said in her videos, alongside her French bulldog, Deco. “We are not prepared for our own lives.”
Freezing eggs, which can cost $15,000 to $20,000 per cycle, typically involves medicine administered orally or by injection to help stimulate the ovaries to increase the number of eggs produced, according to NYC IVF. Women then undergo a procedure to retrieve the eggs. In an interview with ABC News on Sunday morning, Ocasio-Cortez called it “badass that I’m going to be giving myself shots in the green room.”
Her videos and Sunday morning appearance fueled the question: Is she going to run for president or Senate?
She told ABC’s Jonathan Karl that she hasn’t “ruled out” the possibility for a presidential run, and she hinted she would consider running for New York Sen. Chuck Schumer’s seat, adding, “anything is possible at this juncture.”
For now, she is more focused on igniting conversations around women’s health.
“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.
