US3 min(s) read
Published 13:15 10 Aug 2026 GMT
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has opened up about her decision to freeze her eggs, while addressing the speculation that the personal choice could be connected to a possible 2028 presidential campaign.
The 36-year-old New York Democrat revealed that she had begun the process and has been documenting parts of it for her followers on Instagram, including giving updates about the hormone injections required before the eggs can be collected.
Ocasio-Cortez said egg freezing was something she had been considering and saving money for over a period of time.
With Congress currently on its August recess, she said she felt that now was the right moment to undergo the procedure.
“This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life,” she said, adding that she felt “empowered” by the decision.
The congresswoman also appeared to address assumptions that freezing her eggs could be linked to ambitions of becoming president in 2028.
“The media will run up and ask a question like, ‘Are you going to run for this? Or are you going to run for that?’ And it is almost through this very two-dimensional, craven understanding or ambitious understanding of power,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
She argued that politicians, like many people, make major decisions based on a range of personal circumstances rather than simply their ambitions for political power.
“I think a lot of us actually approach these considerations or these decisions through the larger context of our lives as whole human beings and what is happening in our lives, as whole human beings,” she added.
Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged that being so open about a deeply personal decision could potentially have political consequences.
However, she said she wanted to use her experience to provide information to other women and make conversations about fertility more commonplace.
The congresswoman even planned to continue her treatment while carrying out her political duties.
She said she was scheduled to appear on ABC News' This Week and intended to administer her hormone injections in the programme's waiting room before going on air.
“I want you all to see that. And because women can do anything, and I think it’s badass that I’m going to be giving myself shots in the green room [as I] get my glam on,” she said.
Egg freezing involves stimulating the ovaries with hormones before doctors retrieve unfertilized eggs.
Women typically undergo around two weeks of hormone treatment before the eggs are collected.
The procedure can provide an option for women who want to help maintain some of their fertility while they are younger.
Ocasio-Cortez also spoke about what she sees as a different standard applied to women in US politics compared with men.
“This is just not something that men deal with,” she added.
“Men run for office, or frankly, they interview for jobs, and people don’t think in the back of their mind, ‘Okay, this guy is running for office. How old is he? Oh, well, is he going to want to start a family,’” she added.
Reflecting on her rapid rise in politics, she recalled being elected to Congress at a relatively young age.
“I got sworn into the House of Representatives when I was 29 years old,” she stated.
“There’s this flip side where you have to then grow up in the public eye in a time that most people usually get to grow more privately.”
