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Democratic rep calls lack or reproductive health care leave ‘economic violence’
Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva described claimed it was “economic violence” to not let a woman recover from a “grueling gynecological procedure” with paid leave
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., revealed that she is freezing her eggs, opening up about the deeply personal decision in a series of Instagram Story videos while saying the procedure will give her more control over her future and using the announcement to criticize the Trump administration’s policies on women’s reproductive health
The progressive “Squad” member posted the videos Saturday, explaining that she had spent years considering the procedure and saving for it before deciding to undergo fertility preservation
Ocasio-Cortez said she wanted to be open about the process because women are often not taught enough about their reproductive health or family-planning options
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez poses with her dog during an Instagram story marking “Day one of freezing my eggs.”(Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
“I have made the decision to start freezing my eggs,” Ocasio-Cortez said
“I was weighing it for a very long time, and I think that I was saving for it for a very long time.”
Ocasio-Cortez, who was first elected to Congress at 28, said serving in office at a young age meant navigating major life decisions publicly in a way many people do not
“When you get elected young, you have to grow up in the public eye in a time that most people usually get to grow more privately,” she said
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The congresswoman posted behind-the-scenes videos of the fertility preservation process after announcing she decided to freeze her eggs.(Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
The New York Democrat said she hoped sharing the experience would help normalize conversations about fertility, pregnancy, menopause, perimenopause, PCOS and other aspects of women’s health that she believes are too often overlooked
“As women in general, we are not taught about our bodies,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referencing puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause, menopause and conditions including PCOS
“I think we need to show more depictions of women having full lives in every context and every choice,” she added
Ocasio-Cortez framed the move as an effort to take more control over her future
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared videos documenting the start of her egg-freezing process, including preparing fertility medications.(Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
“This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life,” she said. “If people want to make assumptions about my decision, let them make those assumptions. I feel empowered to make this choice.”
She acknowledged that being able to undergo the procedure was a privilege and said advances in technology had helped make egg freezing more financially accessible
Ocasio-Cortez then pivoted to politics, saying she was aware there could be a “political tax” associated with disclosing such a personal decision and arguing that female politicians face scrutiny around marriage, pregnancy and family planning that male politicians often do not
She also blamed the Trump administration for what she described as an increasingly hostile environment for women’s reproductive choices
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is pictured speaking during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. At right is President Donald Trump speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026.(Liesa Johannssen/Reuters; Mandel Ngan/AFP
“In the political context that we’re in, in an administration that is dedicated to politicizing women’s bodies and taking our choices away from us and punishing us around decisions to be pregnant or not be pregnant,” she said
“Frankly, this administration has made pregnancy more dangerous than probably at any point in the last 30-plus years,” Ocasio-Cortez added
“We’re going to take our power back,” she said. “And we have to talk about it.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks
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The announcement quickly drew criticism from some conservatives on social media, including Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet, who argued that Ocasio-Cortez’s decision reflected what he described as a broader progressive message prioritizing careers over starting families
“This is the message progressives spread when it comes to family formation, and one of the reasons why fertility rates are cratering,” Kolvet wrote on X
“Just freeze your eggs, kids! Pursue that career, even if you’ve been engaged for 4 years to a man you’ve known since college,” he continued
“AOC turns 37 in a few weeks so if she got pregnant tomorrow it would already be a geriatric pregnancy. This is not female ‘liberation,’ it’s a cautionary tale.”
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Ocasio-Cortez has been engaged to longtime partner Riley Roberts since May 2022
Her egg-freezing announcement comes roughly seven years after the New York Democrat famously warned in 2019 that “the world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change,” leaving about five years remaining under that timeline
Ocasio-Cortez said she plans to take viewers through parts of the egg-freezing process, including the hormone injections required ahead of egg retrieval
She said she had already filmed herself unboxing her medications and administering her first shot
The congresswoman said she would even give herself one of the injections in the green room before appearing on an ABC morning show
“I’m gonna take my shot in the green room before my interview,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Because women can do anything.”
“I think it’s bad— that I’m gonna be, you know, giving myself shots in the green room, get my glam on, roll out, talk about international events, domestic policy, elections, pop out, live my life, do my thing.”
