US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has revealed that she has begun freezing her eggs, saying the process highlights a fertility burden that falls disproportionately on women. The New York Democrat, who has been engaged to her fiancé for four years, said the experience made her reflect on how egg freezing and fertility planning "isn't something men deal with", drawing attention to the physical and emotional demands placed on women who want to preserve the option of having children later in life.

Ocasio-Cortez, 36, discussed her decision publicly, framing it partly as a commentary on the unequal biological pressures faced by women compared with their male partners. She did not give a specific timeline for starting a family with her fiancé, restaurateur Riley Roberts, to whom she has been engaged since 2022, but suggested the egg-freezing process had prompted broader reflections on gender and reproductive responsibility.