Tuscany paves the way for free egg freezing -but a national law is still missing

Freezing one’s eggs by choice, not out of medical necessity. And doing so without having to spend thousands of euros. In Tuscany, they’re taking a chance with a bill that has just been introduced, which aims to make social freezing accessible to (almost) everyone.

Today, in Italy, freezing one’s eggs can be extremely expensive: a cryopreservation cycle costs on average between 5,000 and 7,000 euros, with rare exceptions at lower rates in certain regions (2,000 to 3,000 euros). Added to this are annual storage fees of 100 to 300 euros, which vary depending on the public facilities under contract and private centers. As a result, for many women, choosing to delay motherhood is simply impossible—not for biological reasons, but for economic ones.

The proposed Tuscan law aims to turn the tide by providing financial assistance of up to 3,000 euros for women aged 25 to 39, who have resided in the region for at least one year and have an ISEE reference income of less than 30,000 euros. This tangible financial boost, disbursed through the regional healthcare system, can be claimed only once in a lifetime and will prioritize those with the lowest incomes.

The bill is still in the early stages of the legislative process and must go through the health committee before reaching the Regional Council. But the political message is clear: to address a fundamental right—the right to decide whether and when to become a mother—which, in reality, is not truly guaranteed for all women today.

Behind this proposal lies another issue—one that receives far less media attention but is nonetheless central: the declining birth rate. Data fromIstat show a new all-time low, with only 1.14 children per woman. Yet the desire for motherhood has not disappeared. According to some regional estimates, about 80% of women aged 25 to 34 would like to become mothers. The problem is that they often cannot afford to do so, or at least not under favorable conditions.

This is where social freezing comes into play as an additional tool, and Tuscany is not an isolated case. In recent years, several regions have moved in this direction, from Puglia to Lazio, and on to Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna. The landscape remains fragmented, however, and, above all, there is still no national legislative framework capable of making this right a truly structural measure.

This is all the more true given that another, deeper obstacle persists: Law 40 of 2004, which still governs medically assisted reproduction (MAR) in Italy today. Many consider this law outdated, and it continues to exclude single women and same-sex couples from several treatment options. The Tuscan proposal addresses only egg preservation, not access to fertilization techniques, which remains subject to this national law.