Looks like more men are choosing vasectomies, now that their wives or girlfriends can’t get abortions in many states in the US.
An increase in demand for vasectomies across the country since the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade has led to two clinics offering the service for free for a few days in Iowa and Missouri.
Planned Parenthood has collaborated with Esgar Guarin, MD, who runs a mobile vasectomy clinic, to offer 60 vasectomies for three days to uninsured patients in Planned Parenthood clinics in St. Louis, Joplin, and Springfield. They will offer free services during the first week of November.
The following week, Dr. Guarin will take his mobile clinic, nicknamed the “Nutcracker,” on a vasectomy tour in several places across Iowa, offering 40 more free vasectomy procedures. Patients will get a discounted price on vasectomies throughout November at his main clinic in Des Moines.
These procedures will coincide with World Vasectomy Day. According to Dr. Guarin, vasectomies are not as popular as tubular litigation, known commonly to women as “tying the tubes,” even though they cost less, are not as invasive, and take a shorter time to heal.
The doctor also serves on the World Vasectomy Day Medical Advisory Board. Last year, he helped offer free vasectomies at Planned Parenthood clinics in St. Louis, Missouri, in order to raise awareness. His efforts were very well received and they decided to take the offer to other cities.
Planned Parenthood clinics in St. Louis and Southwest Missouri did 42 vasectomies in July alone, a huge rise from the ten procedures performed in the clinics in July last year. The clinics also performed 18 female sterilization procedures in July, up from three in the same month in 2021.
The Planned Parenthood website reports that the organization has seen a more than 50% increase in the search for information about vasectomies over the past three months.
According to Google Trends, vasectomy searches spiked briefly before the Supreme Court decision and reached an all-time high after the decision to overturn Roe v Wade was announced.
Dr. Doug Stein, a urologist in Florida, said that vasectomy bookings in his practice tripled almost immediately after the Supreme Court decision, while Dr. Arnold Bullock, a urologist with over 35 vasectomy procedures monthly, said that patients now have to wait for about three months to get the procedure done.
Dr. Koushik Shaw, a Texas-based urologist, said that his practice saw a spike last year after Texas enacted strict abortion laws and an even bigger increase after the Supreme Court decision. He said that his practice now does 50% more procedures, adding that the decisions forced people to take family planning seriously.
Legislators have also taken note of the surge in vasectomy demand. In 2024, a law in California making vasectomy procedures cheaper, especially for insured patients who will not have to pay any extra fee, will take effect.
Dr. Guarin will accompany Dr. Margaret Baum, Planned Parenthood Medical Director for St. Louis and Southwest Missouri region, to provide the free procedures.
Dr. Baum said that she had noticed a surge in patients who come in to consult with her about permanent sterilization in recent months.
