Lushi, a new startup that offers in-home or telehealth visits from fertility technicians to assist in hormone injections for women going through the egg-freezing process, is named after a breed of chicken that lays a limited number of blue eggs. Apparently, it was launched to address the supposed American “fertility crisis.” Its brand name suggests the problem is due to an ovum shortage, sounding suspiciously like the Abortion is Healthcare mis-direct which claims that since even a normal pregnancy may have possible complications, abortion “saves” women from possible threats to their life. Possibly.

Lushi’s offers are priced at three tiers: Lushi Basic ($299) provides one 30-minute telehealth injection training session and trigger shot monitoring; Lushi Premium ($750) three telehealth remote monitoring/consultations, a virtual meeting with a Chief Medical Officer, and one in-person visit; Lushi VIP ($5,000) ten in-person visits, unlimited telehealth monitoring, and access to the company’s technician network. Basic, Premium, and VIP! Well, lah-de-dah. Tennis anyone?

A number of factors may indeed affect fertility (Does the United States Have an Infertility Crisis? – The New York Times), including sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia and gonorrhea, which can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease and damage the fallopian tubes. Chemicals are also a cause for concern. Research has found a link between reproductive health and exposure to harmful chemicals and substances (EDCs) found in air pollutants, personal care products, plastics, pesticides, and even food, that can disrupt the functioning of our hormones. But scientists are not sure how exposure to these affects a particular individual’s fertility since they’re almost impossible to avoid. The most common reason for problems with a woman’s fertility is delaying pregnancy. There is no “limited number of eggs,” blue or otherwise; it’s simply waiting too long.

An important step in “your egg freezing journey,” as one website (The Egg Freezing Trigger Shot: Your Complete Guide | Cofertility) cheerfully chirps (pun intended), is the trigger shot, also known as the “ovulation trigger.” Ovaries usually release one mature egg into the fallopian tube to await fertilization, but with egg freezing (What Is the Egg Retrieval Process Really Like?) hormonal medication is used to produce many eggs at the same time. The two main hormonal medications used are hCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) and GnRH Agonist. Luteinizing hormone (LH) occurs naturally in a woman’s body just before ovulation; hCG mimics the LH surge whereas GnRH Agonist causes a woman’s body to stimulate its own surge of LH. This signals the ovaries to complete the final maturation of the eggs so they can be harvested. A long thin needle is inserted through the vagina into each ovarian follicle and, using suction, pulls out the fluid and the eggs that come with it, typically 15 to 20. Possible side effects of the process include: redness, swelling, or mild pain at the injection site, breast tenderness, feeling restless or irritable, headache, blood clots, and Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS), a condition where the ovaries become swollen and painful. The cheerful website’s parting “uplifting” message is: “Egg freezing is a proactive step towards taking control of your reproductive future, and each step of the process, including the trigger shot, is a part of that empowering decision.”

The go-to explanation for why women delay having children is career concerns. Presumably we’re not talking about just any job, but an exciting, stimulating, and lucrative profession with a fast track that’s important to stay on, one you can bet dollars to donuts is based on a male centric model. All this focus these days on women’s autonomy and empowerment, yet none of it dares to “lean in” and challenge a work culture designed around the presumption that there’s only one gender’s lifestyle to consider? That all these “empowered” women should be content with some limited maternity leave? Why not march and wave placards and make noise to force companies to provide not only on-site childcare, but structure women’s workdays to include bonding and breast-feeding breaks? And, not for nothing, water cooler chit-chat with a lactating female might do wonders for raising men’s awareness about the world outside of the boardroom.

Staying on her career track isn’t the only reason a woman may turn to egg freezing. What if I never find love and marriage or find it too late to have kids? Going the single mother route is a complicated decision, I don’t want to rush into it, and it’s a comfort to know this buys me time. The time it buys is limited though since frozen eggs are only good for about four years and being fragile many are destroyed in the thawing process. Interestingly, only between 10 and 15 percent of women who do freeze their eggs go back for them, perhaps a testament to the fundamental practicality of women—one informed by our body sense. After all, what is more practical than the female anatomy which can produce eggs that once fertilized (thank you, gents) can be nourished and grow in her womb, and then when the time comes, has the mechanism for the baby to exit and the means to provide the milk to feed it. One Stop Shopping!

Practicality is in women’s bones, and although this egg freezing option may grab some interest for a while, sooner or later gals are going to look at the shots, the needle through the ovaries, and the side effects—only to then face the physical and moral hurdle of being coerced into multiple embryo implantations—and ask themselves: Does it really need to be this complicated? Who knows, in addition to getting her to just accept her biological clock, it might even wind up being a way to get a hubby who’s dragging his feet about starting a family (Wait till my next raise, we need a new car) to come around—starting with strategically leaving a Freeze Your Eggs brochure near the TV remote. Women do know how to get their way, when they put their hearts and minds to it.