Why Corporate Promotion of Egg Freezing isn’t a “Benefit” to All Women
By Rachel Walden,
Our Bodies, Our Blog
| 10. 28. 2014
[Quotes CGS's Marcy Darnovsky]
Untitled Document
Apple recently announced it was joining Facebook in covering costs for female employees who opt to freeze their eggs for non-medical reasons.
Both companies are providing up to $20,000; Apple as part of its fertility coverage, and Facebook as part of its surrogacy benefits.
Despite the financial generosity, this might not be a good deal for healthy employees of these companies — or for women in the workplace in general.
While some news outlets have addressed the high cost of egg freezing — at least $10,000 per ovarian stimulation cycle and $500 a year for storage — there’s more to be concerned about than the high cost or the low chances of success (according to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, for a woman age 38, the chance of one frozen egg leading to a live birth is 2 to 12 percent).
We’ve pulled together a number of articles discussing the potential health risks and the complicated messaging to women employees. Please feel free to add what you’re reading in the comments.
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