Gloria Richard-Davis: Egg Freezing Is in the Headlines – But Who Really Has Access?
Gloria Richard-Davis, Physician at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and Regional Dean, Seattle/Puget Sound at Morehouse School of Medicine, shared on LinkedIn:
”Egg freezing is in the headlines. Now let’s talk about who actually has access.
Thank you, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress for having the courage to publicly share your decision to freeze your eggs.
Whatever your politics, this is a conversation worth having.
AOC said she chose egg freezing to feel more in control of her life-and that she was willing to accept the ‘political risk’ of discussing something so personal publicly. Her candor has opened an important conversation for younger women who may never have been taught to think about fertility preservation until it is too late.
As a reproductive endocrinologist, this hits close to home.
That lesson has stayed with me.
Egg freezing is not a guarantee of a future baby. But freezing eggs at a younger age can preserve reproductive options before age-related decline becomes more significant. American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) removed the ‘experimental’ designation for oocyte cryopreservation in 2012 following major advances in freezing technology, and today recognizes planned egg freezing as an ethically permissible option for preserving future reproductive potential.
But education is only half of the conversation.
The other half is economics.
- Who can afford to preserve their fertility?
- Who has insurance or employer coverage?
- Who has thousands of dollars available for consultations, medications, retrieval, freezing and ongoing storage?
- And who never gets the opportunity because the price itself closes the door?
A Reuters report this week highlighted exactly that reality: egg freezing involves not only the procedure, but medications, testing and annual storage-and even partial insurance coverage may leave substantial out-of-pocket expenses.
This is why employer fertility benefits matter.
Companies including Alphabet, Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Spotify, Starbucks and others have offered fertility or egg-freezing benefits, although eligibility, coverage limits and requirements vary considerably by employer and health plan. Amazon, for example, has offered fertility and family-building benefits through Progyny.
In my American Journal of Managed Care interview on employer considerations in managing fertility and infertility benefits, I discussed why fertility coverage should be viewed not simply as an employee ‘perk,’ but as an important component of a comprehensive benefits strategy.
Employers have an opportunity to make reproductive choice more equitable.
So yes-let’s celebrate the visibility AOC has brought to egg freezing.
But let’s use this moment to ask the harder question:
How do we ensure those options are available to more women?
That is the conversation I hope continues at all levels-employer, policy, etc.
Reproductive choice requires awareness, access, and affordability!”
Stay informed with the latest updates in fertility and reproductive medicine on Fertility News.
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