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The US congresswoman is sharing her journey to freeze her eggs, and in doing so opening up conversation around the trade-offs professional women face. It’s also driving backlash from the right.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or AOC as she’s often dubbed by the media) has become a major play for Democratic Socialists in the US.
After campaigning alongside Bernie Sanders and amassing a huge following amongst young voters on social media, AOC has gradually built a prominent profile across the country – fuelling speculation of her impending run for the presidency in 2028.
AOC is one of several politicians promising a different America in the wake of Trump, part of a socialist-leaning leftist group whose biggest success has arguably been the election of New York mayor Zohran Mamdani.
But while the policies of Congress members like AOC have always ruffled feathers on the right, her latest pursuit has little to do with politics. Ocasio-Cortez has taken to social media in recent weeks to share her journey with egg freezing. She’s said she hopes that by talking publicly about the issue she may help to destigmatise the trade-offs modern professional women face everyday. She’s also aware of the political risks posed by such online vulnerability.
‘Day One of freezing my eggs,’ AOC said on a recent Instagram reel. ‘I’m diving into the process.’ Over the course of several short videos she’s proceeded to take followers along with her to appointments and filmed her routine injections. ‘Don’t be weird about this,’ she says. ‘Even though I know all of you will be.’
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gives herself injection as she begins freezing her eggs. #uspolitics #usnews #health #eggfreezing #politics pic.twitter.com/RdrxYnSkbq
— The Independent (@Independent) August 10, 2026
The response has been – unsurprisingly – negative from the conservative left. But AOC’s openness has also attracted praise. Comments beneath her videos are littered with thanks from women who finally feel seen by a Congressional figure, regardless of personal politics.
‘I appreciate you being open about something as personal as the egg-freezing process,’ wrote one user. ‘Thank you for making the conversation relatable and shedding light on a struggle many women experience.’
AOC’s decision has sparked wild speculation about her dating life, with suggestions she’s broken up with long-term partner Riley Roberts. It’s also driven lots of moral handwringing from the right-wing media.
Right-wing commentator Matt Walsh called the decision ‘totally backwards and ridiculous’, arguing that Ocasio-Cortez should instead have children younger. Conservative podcaster Katie Miller, meanwhile, appeared to praise the decision while using it to make a broader argument that women should marry and have children earlier, rather than spend their ‘childbearing years climbing the career ladder’.
None of that has swayed her. As the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, AOC has said she had to ‘grow up in the public eye’, and that while she usually keeps her ‘private life quite private’, she said sharing her egg-freezing journey was a means of normalising the trials women face in a world that remains largely uneducated on the female body.
‘As women, in general, we are not taught about our bodies,’ AOC said. ‘We are not prepared for our own lives,’ from puberty to menopause. ‘I think we need to show more depictions of women having full lives in every context and every choice.’
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez opened up about the decision to freeze her eggs on social media Saturday.
“I think it’s important for us as leaders to have these conversations and share these processes, especially for working women across the country,” she tells ABC News’ Jonathan… pic.twitter.com/LJqNQtzQGB
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 9, 2026
