More and more women are considering sterilization surgery following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The June 24th ruling – which was exposed by a leak in May – revoked the constitutional right to abortion granted to women in 1973 and sent the issue into the hands of state lawmakers.
Within a week, Google searches for female sterilization, tubes tied surgery, fallopian tube removal, tubal ligation, and salpingectomy had surged. Doctors also reported an increase in the number of men seeking vasectomies.
Abortion bans are in place in eight states and are in the works in four states.
Five states passed abortion bans that were blocked by courts and three states allow abortion up to six weeks.
Dr. Michelle Muldrow, an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) in San Antonio, TX, says the number of women coming into her office to discuss sterilization is like nothing she has ever seen. “I’ve had more consultations for sterilization in volume per patient load than I’ve ever had in my career,” said Muldrow, whose name appears on a list of doctors willing to conduct sterilization surgery on patients as young as 21. “Never before have I seen so many women in such a panic or state of anxiety about their bodies and their reproductive rights…They feel like this is their only option.
Female sterilization surgery, commonly referred to as “getting your tubes tied,” involves cutting, blocking, or removing the fallopian tubes. Unlike vasectomies, female sterilization surgery is permanent and irreversible.
Many of the women seeking sterilization after Roe v. Wade seem to view it as a way of maintaining control over their bodies.
“Because of Roe being overturned, it is causing me to undergo a major surgery and take on the complications and risks that come with it just so that I don’t have to worry about carrying an unwanted pregnancy,” argues Brandi Shepard, a 26-year-old Ohio native who has been trying to get tubal ligation surgery since she was 21. “I’m pissed. It’s insane that this is what I had to do to maintain bodily autonomy.”
Ohio currently bans abortions after six weeks and is working on a bill to outlaw abortions and restrict access to birth control.
Hannah Morgan, 35, also sought sterilization surgery after the Supreme Court’s decision.
“Abortion’s not an option that most people would consider, but it’s always there as a last resort,” said Hannah. With her home state of Missouri being among the first states to ban abortion, she felt that sterilization was her only option. “I can’t rely on anything anymore. I just need something permanent so I don’t have to add this to my list of worries anymore.”
Catherine, a 27-year-old living in Minnesota, scheduled a consultation to discuss sterilization after the court’s decision even though abortion remains legal in her home state. “I thought, well, now is as good a time as ever…I am very afraid of the way things will continue to go because I feel that this is only the beginning.”
Julie Ann Nitsch, a Texas resident and survivor of sexual assault, decided to get sterilized so she would not be forced to give birth if she becomes pregnant after a future assault. “I ripped my organs out” to avoid that, said Nitsch. “It’s sad to think that I can’t have kids, but it’s better than being forced to have children.”
Another impact of the court’s decision is a severe hesitation among doctors to provide treatment to pregnant women – even in cases where ectopic pregnancy threatens the woman’s life.
Some physicians have even stopped prescribing methotrexate (a drug used to relieve debilitating symptoms of lupus) because it could theoretically be used to induce miscarriage.
“The art of medicine is lost and actually has been replaced by fear,” laments Dr. Jessian Munoz, another OB-BYN working in San Antonio. With the decision on Roe v. Wade, physicians are struggling to identify the moment at which a patient with a complicated pregnancy is “sick enough” to undergo surgery.
“We physically watched her get sicker, and sicker, and sicker,” said Munoz of a recent patient who developed a womb infection during a miscarriage. The doctors were forced to wait until they could no longer detect a fetal heartbeat to perform surgery, which saw the patient lose liters of blood and develop severe complications. “All because we were essentially 24 hours behind.”
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‘Frustrated’ young women are trying to get sterilized after overturning of Roe
More women are seeking sterilization since Roe vs. Wade was overturned