Way more Americans are getting sterilized since Roe was struck down, research finds

A new study has found that from May to August 2022, vasectomies surged by 95% and tubal sterilizations increased by 70% among adults ages 19 to 26. Health care professionals across the country have seen this in real time. 

A study published in the medical journal Health Affairs earlier this month found that vasectomies surged by 95% and tubal sterilizations increased by 70% among adults ages 19 to 26 from May to August 2022, following the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

In order to determine patient interest in permanent contraception, the researchers used health data from IQVIA, a clinical research service, which broke down visits where patients inquired about permanent contraception options in 2021 and 2022. The researchers then split states into two categories: those they thought were likely to enact abortion restrictions and those they thought were unlikely to enact restrictions. 

They chose to examine states where residents feared a potential abortion ban — rather than only states that ultimately enacted post-Roe abortion bans — because they determined that fear could be enough to make someone seek a sterilization procedure. 

“We know that young people, including young adults, are sensitive to major changes like the Dobbs decision, so it’s not totally surprising to me that we would see some type of shift,” Julia Strasser, author of the latest study and an assistant research professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at George Washington University told The Washington Post. “I do think the magnitude of the change was somewhat surprising.”

Vasectomies involve cutting and then sealing the vas deferens, which is the tube that carries sperm from the testes to the urethra. This prevents sperm from mixing with semen during ejaculation. They’re generally considered a permanent form of contraception, although they can sometimes be reversed through surgery. Tubal sterilizations, on the other hand, are irreversible, and the procedure involves blocking the fallopian tubes. Removing the fallopian tubes entirely is called a salpingectomy. 

These findings are in line with that of a JAMA Health Forum research letter published in April, which noted a rise in permanent contraception procedures among adults ages 18 to 30 years old following the court’s ruling.

Planned Parenthood has also seen a dramatic increase in interest in tubal ligations in the wake of the fall of Roe. Visits to its main website skyrocketed the day before the 2024 presidential election, according to Priscilla Vazquez, communications manager at Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

In-person queries at some of the organization’s regional offices have increased dramatically as well, even in states where abortion remains protected. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, for example, saw a 368% increase in consultations for vasectomies following Trump’s reelection in November, according to Chief Executive Nicole Clegg, who also spoke with The Post.

“It’s absolutely a phenomenon because urologists in our area had a six-month wait list,” Clegg said. 

Marc Goldstein, a board-certified urologic surgeon specializing in male infertility at New York’s Weill Cornell Medicine, told The Post he’s also seen an increase in the number of men and couples opting for sterilization. 

“In 43 years of doing this, I’ve seen maybe three or four couples who never had children or men who never had children,” he said. “But now we’re seeing a huge increase in the number of couples who think the world is too awful a place to bring children into.”

Karen Tang, a gynecologist from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, has also seen an increase. 

“Every birth control can fail and you can, even if you’re using reliable birth control, have an unintended pregnancy,” Tang told The Post.