AOC Is Talking About the Cost of Freezing Her Eggs–Latinas Have Even More Reason to Listen

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently revealed on social media that she’s freezing her eggs, speaking candidly not only about the decision itself, but about the steep financial costs that come with it. The 36-year-old Democrat, who represents parts of Queens—including my own district—and the Bronx, also acknowledged the political risk of sharing something so personal.

“There is, very strangely, a political risk—or a political tax—that comes with sharing this info,” she said, while also addressing speculation that she’s preparing for a presidential run.

Ocasio-Cortez has long been vocal about abortion and reproductive rights, and now she’s using her own fertility journey to spotlight a part of reproductive healthcare that often gets left out of the conversation: access.

“Cutting straight to the chase, one of the things that was most stressful for me, as well, when I was considering doing this … is cost,” she said in an Instagram story. “My insurance does not cover one penny of this. It is 100 percent out of pocket.”

I know that stress well. I froze my eggs at 39, after first considering it at 28 and again at 35. Both times, the biggest obstacle wasn’t confusion or fear—it was money. At 35, I had to choose between using my savings to freeze my eggs, which would have cost around $10,000 to $15,000 for one round, or finally getting my own apartment. I wanted both: more time to figure out motherhood as a single woman and the financial stability to build the life I wanted. But I couldn’t afford both.

By 39, after years of going back and forth, I finally knew I wanted to become a mother. Around that same time, through my job at POPSUGAR, I was assigned to document my own egg-freezing journey for a story and social media series. As part of that opportunity, one of the country’s top fertility companies covered the full cost of my treatment.

It was the only reason I was able to do it.

I was incredibly fortunate, but reproductive healthcare shouldn’t depend on a rare professional opportunity. Some might call what happened to me luck; as someone who believes in divine timing, I call it a blessing. But either way, it proves the larger point: access to fertility preservation is still out of reach for far too many people.

That’s why AOC’s transparency matters. She explained that egg freezing typically involves two major costs: medication and the clinic procedure. Her total, she said, would likely fall between $8,000 and $9,000. Mine would have been closer to $15,000. Either way, most people don’t have that kind of money readily available.

For Latinas, there’s another layer. Many of us grow up hearing myths that Latinas are naturally fertile. I’ve had people tell me I’ll be fine because I’m Latina or because women in my family had children later in life. But fertility is not guaranteed—not for anyone. Today, so many factors, from health inequities to environmental and economic stressors, shape people’s ability to conceive.

And statistically, Latinas are often under-informed about fertility while also being less likely to afford fertility preservation. If we’re going to tell women that egg freezing gives them more reproductive choices, we also have to ask whether they can actually access those choices.

My treatment was possible only because someone else covered the cost. I’m grateful for that all the time, especially because egg freezing comes with no guarantees. But even the possibility of having more options should not depend on working for the right company, having thousands of dollars saved, or getting lucky enough for an opportunity to fall into your lap.

Like many Latinas, I didn’t need more awareness about egg freezing. My mother and I had been looking into it since I was 28, after having left an almost 10-year relationship. What I needed was access.

And if we truly believe women deserve more choices about when and how they become mothers, then those choices need to be within reach for everyone.