US left-wing star Ocasio-Cortez reveals decision to freeze her eggs

WASHINGTON – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most prominent figures on the US left and a potential presidential contender, has revealed she is freezing her eggs, saying she wants to speak openly about choices confronting women balancing careers and family.

The 36-year-old Democratic congresswoman from New York shared videos of the fertility treatment on social media over the weekend, including footage of herself administering hormone injections.

“This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life,” Ocasio-Cortez said, describing her ability to undergo the procedure as a “very privileged position”.

Her disclosure came as speculation mounts over her political future.

Hours later, Ocasio-Cortez said in a television interview that she has not ruled out running for the White House in 2028, while also leaving open the possibility of challenging Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer for his New York seat.

“I haven’t ruled out the possibility,” she told ABC on Aug 9 when asked about a presidential bid, while insisting her immediate focus remains November’s midterm elections.

Ocasio-Cortez, widely known by her initials AOC, burst onto the national political scene with an upset congressional victory in 2018 and rapidly became a leading voice of the Democratic Party’s left wing.

She said going public about freezing her eggs carried a “political risk”, arguing women running for office face questions about marriage and children rarely asked of men.

“This is just not something that men deal with,” she said. “Men run for office, or frankly they interview for jobs”, without people wondering whether they intend to start a family.

Ocasio-Cortez also linked the decision to her advocacy for reproductive rights, saying political leaders should normalise conversations about women’s health at a time when access to abortion and other reproductive care remains fiercely contested in the United States.

“In this political environment, I think it’s important for us as leaders to have these conversations,” she said.

Egg freezing involves stimulating the ovaries with hormone injections before mature eggs are surgically retrieved and preserved for possible future use through in vitro fertilisation.

The process can be expensive, is not always covered by insurance and offers no guarantee of a future pregnancy. Ocasio-Cortez said she had been saving for the procedure and considering it for a long time.

She did not say whether she ultimately plans to have children. AFP