US men are rushing to get vasectomies following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, according to urologists.
The Washington Post reports that doctors have seen a spike in men demanding the procedure in response to the court's decision.
Florida Urologist Dr John Curington told the outlet that around 60-70 per cent of men coming into his office cite this as the reason they’re getting the procedure.
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He said: “A few of them have such sophistication as young men that they actually are thinking about Justice [Clarence] Thomas and his opinion that contraception may fall next. And that’s shocking.
“That’s something that doesn’t enter into our conversations ever, until this week.”
Curington’s associate, Dr Doug Stein, also confirmed the numbers are surging, with at least 12-18 requests a day.
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Before the Supreme Court move that number was only four to five per day.
He said: “Many of the guys are saying that they have been thinking about a vasectomy for a while, and the Roe v. Wade decision was just that final factor that tipped them over the edge and made them submit the online registration.”
According to data from Cleveland Clinic, around 50,000 men get vasectomies each year.
A 2002 National Healthcare of Statistics report also confirmed the main reason for the procedure was that men felt they already had all the children they wanted.
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However, from the years 2011-2015, reasons such as 'problems with birth control' and 'medical reasons' became increasingly more popular.
According to The HealthSite.com, more men are getting vasectomies following the court’s decision to help protect their partner’s reproductive rights and avoid unwanted stress.
New Jersey native Mark Mckinney told BuzzFeed News that following the announcement; he made sure to book an appointment.
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He said: “I'm 37 years old, married with two kids, and have been putting it off for years now just because I get really anxious about surgery, but this finally kicked me in the teeth enough to make it happen.
“My wife has actually been bugging me to make an appointment for a while, and when I told her I made one today she said, ‘So whenever you need to do something, I'm going to reach out to the Supreme Court.’”
And with 13 states already passing ‘trigger laws’ that went into effect immediately following the overruling, we’re likely to see many more men opt for the elective surgery.
Charisa Bossinakis