[Music] So, growing up, I felt like everyone knew someone who had had been diagnosed with cancer. It was so prevalent and heartbreaking, and it felt like it was all I heard about. As I got older, I experienced the same phenomenon with Alzheimer's disease and later on the same with mental health issues.These are all heavily talked about, very real issues that our friends and families are experiencing. And these health issues follow the typical trend that as the commonality of the issue increases, awareness a ...

Egg Freezing Market & Technology - Egg freezing has become an accepted practice in the last 12 years, leading to a surge in demand with hundreds of thousands of eggs now frozen [2][3] - Egg freezing technology is considered as revolutionary as the birth control pill in the 1960s and 70s, offering women the option to delay childbearing into their 40s [8][9] - The process involves hormone injections to ripen multiple follicles, followed by egg retrieval and storage in liquid nitrogen at -320°F (-195.56°C) [4][5][7] - A 2022 study indicated that 70% of women who froze at least 20 eggs before age 38 had a baby [43] Financial Aspects & Corporate Involvement - A single egg freezing cycle costs an average of $12,000 to $15,000, with an additional $500 to $1,000 annually for storage, and around $10,000 for thawing and fertilization later on [21] - Over a third of the largest corporations in the US (those with 20,000 or more employees) now cover egg freezing as a benefit [22] - Venture capital and private equity firms have invested in egg freezing startups and fertility clinics, consolidating them into large networks [31] Ethical & Social Considerations - The optimal age to freeze eggs is in a woman's 20s due to lower rates of genetic errors and a higher quantity of eggs [18] - By age 40, 60-70% of embryos from a woman's eggs are likely to be chromosomally abnormal, increasing to 90% by age 45 [16] - Elective egg freezing may send the message to women that they can delay motherhood, but it involves medical risks, significant costs, and no guarantee of success [42] - Concerns exist that private equity-backed fertility companies may pressure doctors to encourage more cycles to increase revenue [45][46] - The majority of women who electively freeze their eggs are white and well-resourced, highlighting a gap in reproductive autonomy based on financial resources [47] Impact of Abortion Restrictions on Maternal Care - Texas' abortion restrictions have led to unintended consequences, hurting women with desired pregnancies and the people who care for them [57] - After Texas restricted abortion, maternal deaths rose 61% from 2019, compared to 8% nationwide [73] - In 2023, the number of OBGYN resident applicants in Texas dropped 16%, indicating future obstetricians are acknowledging the complexity of the rules in Texas [74] - One study showed over a 300% increase in out-of-state patient volume in New Mexico in 2023 compared to 2019, with 70-71% of those patients being from Texas [81] - Louisiana has the highest maternal mortality rate in the US, with 39 out of every 100,000 mothers dying during or shortly after childbirth [90][91]