After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to physicians and online search data, a staggering number of women are considering permanent sterilization procedures in fear that tomorrow there’ll be no other option.
Google data shows a nearly quadrupled number of searches for terms such as tubal ligation in the week after the Roe decision, and reproductive health practices are fielding more phone calls than ever from women about sterilization.
Women interested in pursuing sterilization have even flooded the Facebook support groups since the June 24 ruling with one group gaining more than 2,500 new members.
Women’s Health Domain’s co-owner, Dr. Tyler Handcock, noted that before Roe was overturned, they were receiving one to two calls a week regarding permanent sterilization while now there have been hundreds of calls.
Along with the clinic co-owner Dr. Amy Chapman, Dr. Handcock now holds weekly group information sessions to help answer the many questions they are receiving about sterilization, pointing out that not uncommon for more than 20 attendees to come to a single session.
Among the sterilization options, women can choose between getting their tubes tied- the so-called tubal ligation- which means having fallopian tubes blocked, cut, or tied, and tubal removal, or salpingectomy, which cannot be reversed and includes surgical removal of one or both fallopian tubes.
Women often complain of being dismissed by some doctors when they demanded permanently shutting down the possibility of having children despite being recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to respect reproductive autonomy should a woman request such procedures.
Since permanent sterilization procedures are a common method of contraception, particularly among women, they’ve also advised doctors to provide women with pre-sterilization counseling to emphasize the permanence of the procedures and informs them on reversible alternatives.
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