Upasana Kamineni Konidela recently found herself at the centre of a heated online debate after she shared a video on X stating, "The biggest insurance for women is to freeze their eggs. Because then you can choose when to get married, when you want to have kids, on your own terms, when you are financially independent". Her argument was straightforward: egg freezing gives women the freedom to decide when they want to get married and when they want to become mothers, on their own financial, emotional, and personal terms. But the internet didn’t take it lightly.
The backlash that followed Upasana’s statement revealed something deeper than just disagreement. Many social media users argued that calling egg freezing an “insurance” creates pressure on women, especially young women to pursue medically intensive and expensive procedures as if they are mandatory for a “secure future.”
Critics claimed that while autonomy is important, framing egg freezing as essential can blur the line between empowerment and expectation. For them, the conversation felt less like freedom and more like a subtle suggestion that women must take medical measures to fit into society’s timelines.
Upasana is not the only public figure to openly champion egg freezing. Global icon Priyanka Chopra has spoken about freezing her eggs in her early 30s to focus on her career without the constant anxiety of a biological clock. Mona Singh revealed that she froze her eggs at 34 because she wanted to enjoy her work life and independence before considering motherhood. Producer Ekta Kapoor has also discussed how egg freezing allowed her to become a parent on her own terms.
These stories highlight a shift, women asserting control over their reproductive journeys. But they also raise the question: do these choices reflect universal empowerment, or simply the privilege of access, resources, and medical support that only some women have?
The heart of the conversation isn’t actually about egg freezing, it’s about agency. Why do women’s personal decisions about marriage, motherhood, and timelines always become public battlegrounds?
Women who choose motherhood early are questioned. Women who choose it late are questioned. Women who choose not to have children at all face even harsher scrutiny. And now, women who choose medical alternatives to preserve their fertility are also under the microscope.
Upasana’s comment may have been bold, maybe even simplistic, but the reaction it triggered reveals society’s long-standing discomfort with women freely deciding what they want to do with their bodies and their time.
Whether one agrees with her or not, Upasana was speaking from her perspective, one shared by many women who feel empowered by reproductive choices. Yet the criticism aimed at her shows that even in 2025, women’s autonomy continues to be questioned, reframed, and debated endlessly.
