05/31/2026: Germany Rearms, Freezing the Biological Clock
60 Minutes
CBS News
3.8 • 2.6K Ratings
🗓️ 1 June 2026
⏱️ 41 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
Germany is racing to rearm as the war in Ukraine shakes its sense of security, forcing the country to confront its military past as it strengthens its military might. Correspondent Bill Whitaker observes basic training in northwest Germany and speaks with defense minister Boris Pistorius in Berlin to find out how Germany plans to achieve its aim of building the most powerful armed forces in Europe.Â
Fertility rates in the United States are currently near historic lows, largely because fewer women are having children in their 20s. As women delay starting families, many are opting for egg freezing, the process of retrieving and freezing unfertilized eggs, to preserve their fertility for the future. Does egg freezing provide women with a way to pause their biological clock? Correspondent Lesley Stahl interviews women who have decided to freeze their eggs and explores what the process entails physically, emotionally and financially. She also speaks with fertility specialists and an ethicist about success rates, equity issues and the increasing market potential of egg freezing.Â
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This past November we were invited by the Bundesphere, the German military, to observe basic training |
| 0:14.0 | as a squad of recruits ran punishing drills, honing the skills they would need to defend against an enemy assault. |
| 0:21.6 | Everything we are training here for could be one day real. |
| 0:26.6 | We don't hope that, but we're preparing exactly for that. |
| 0:30.6 | Because of the war in Ukraine? |
| 0:32.6 | Yes, of course. |
| 0:33.6 | Let's get some eggs. |
| 0:35.6 | Let's go. Let's get some eggs. More and go. Let's get some eggs. |
| 0:38.0 | More and more American women are freezing their eggs to preserve their fertility. |
| 0:43.6 | Those are the eggs. |
| 0:44.6 | Could egg freezing offer what previous generations only dreamed of, the chance to put the biological clock on ice? |
| 0:53.4 | There definitely is that TikTok clock, and I'm not ready quite yet. |
| 0:58.7 | I think that egg freezing is as revolutionary as the pill was in 1960s and 70s. It's as |
| 1:04.7 | revolutionary as the pill. I'm Leslie Stahl. I'm Bill Whitaker. |
| 1:11.5 | I'm Anderson Cooper. |
| 1:12.7 | I'm Sharon Alfonci. |
| 1:14.2 | I'm John Wertheim. |
| 1:15.4 | I'm Cecilia Vega. |
| 1:16.7 | I'm Scott Pelly. |
| 1:18.1 | Those stories tonight on 60 Minutes. |
| 1:21.7 | U.S. troops have been stationed in Germany since the end of World War II, providing critical |
| 1:33.9 | support for our NATO ally. This month, just days after German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz criticized |
... |
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