The rise of vasectomies: One-third more men under 30 get cuts after Roe v. overturned Wade

New research has found that more men under 30 are seeking vasectomies following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in June 2022, states have had a say in abortion policies and reproductive rights.

A University of Utah analysis found that the percentage of men under 30 who had vasectomies increased from 6.2 to 9.8 in the months following the decision.

Researchers examined data from millions of patients across the country, comparing statistics from July to December 2021 with an identical period starting the month immediately after the reversal.

Researchers found a “significant increase” in the rate of single men and men under 30 undergoing vasectomies after the Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Constitution does not provide the right to vasectomy. abortion.

They also concluded that the increase in the rate of vasectomies was consistent among states “regardless of legal climate.”

These findings were echoed in other studies published this year, including a paper from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and Boston University.

The article showed “a sharp increase” in the number of patients between 18 and 30 years old who underwent vasectomies and tubal litigation (the equivalent for women) after the ruling.

However, the authors noted that the increase in procedures among female patients was double that of male patients.

Lead author Jacqueline Ellison, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Pitt School of Public Health, offered an explanation for this discrepancy.

Tubal ligation procedures are “much more complex” and “two to six times more expensive,” Ellison wrote.

“The major difference between these two procedures likely reflects the fact that young women are largely responsible for preventing pregnancies and disproportionately suffer the health, social and economic consequences of the abortion ban,” he said. she declared in a press release.

Although the article shied away from determining causality, it noted that the sharp increase in permanent contraception rates “may indicate a policy-induced shift in contraceptive preferences.”

The 2022 decision “may also have increased the sense of urgency among people interested in permanent contraception before the decision,” the paper’s authors wrote.

An Ohio State University study released earlier this month looked at responses to an anonymous survey sent to patients who received treatment from the school’s urology department over the past two years.

When the authors compared responses before and after the decision, they found that patients “expressed concern about the inaccessibility of abortion” after the June 2022 decision “and were more likely to obtain a vasectomy for this reason “.

Additionally, patients were “significantly more likely to indicate that they chose to have a vasectomy because of their concern about being unable to obtain access to abortion” after the decision.

Patients were also significantly more likely to indicate that they “did not want to bring children in the current political climate” and were seeking sterilization instead.

Researchers found that men opting for a vasectomy were not only younger than before, but also more likely not to have children.

“Furthermore, increased volume has also increased wait time from initial consultation to procedure,” they wrote, suggesting that urologists “adjust their practice models to accommodate” demand. higher.

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade almost two years ago ironically gave the states the right to choose, rather than the federal government.

Currently, abortion is illegal in 14 states, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. The ruling allowed states like Missouri, Texas and South Dakota to implement a trigger ban, which automatically criminalized the procedure.

Other states, such as California and New York, passed comprehensive abortion rights legislation before this ruling, meaning a woman’s right to choose was protected.

But tolerance is a sliding scale, and some states fall somewhere in the middle. In New Hampshire and Virginia, abortion remains accessible, but without legal protection. In New Mexico, courts have yet to determine whether the state constitution protects it.

This historic decision caused a division in national opinion. The most vocal opponents, particularly the most devout Catholics, spoke out against abortion on religious grounds.

Among them was Lauren Handy, 30, who was sentenced Tuesday to nearly five years in prison after leading an invasion and blockade of a reproductive health clinic in 2020. Police found five fetuses in her home after her charge.

Several Handy associates are also on trial. A co-defendant forcibly pushed a nurse, causing her to sprain her ankle. Another co-defendant prevented a woman who was suffering from labor pains from entering the clinic.

Those on the other side argue that abortion is an essential part of women’s health care and can often be a life-saving measure.

A Pew Research Center survey conducted nearly a year after the decision found that 62 percent of American adults believed the practice should be legal in all or most cases, while 36 percent agreed. opposed.

Criminalizing abortion means the country could see more illegal procedures, increasing patients’ risk of death.

Developing countries, particularly those in Asia, bear the brunt of 97% of all unsafe abortions, according to a 2021 report from the World Health Organization.

In developed regions, an estimated 30 women die for every 100,000 unsafe abortions. This figure rises to 220 deaths per 100,000 unsafe abortions in developing regions.