A Vasectomy Historian on Why Male Sterilization Won’t Solve the Abortion Problem – MEL Magazine

On June 24th, the Supreme Court officially overturned Roe v. Wade the landmark 1973 ruling that made safe, legal abortion a constitutional right making good on the leaked draft that predicted the move back in May. In the week since, people have taken to social media to respond in horror and to share urgent information about how those in restricted states can still access abortion.

Many of those expressing their anger have also echoed a common sentiment: that if women are forced to give birth, men should be forced to get mandatory vasectomies. For some, the intention behind this is to show the absurdity of politically controlling another persons body and reproductive choices something that many only deem intolerable when applied to men. Or, as one Twitter user eloquently put it: The vasectomy debate is a hypothetical meant to illustrate that people view infringements on the bodily autonomy of women as neutral, while infringements on the bodily autonomy of men as human rights violations.

However, others appear to be more serious in their calls for mandatory vasectomies, urging those who create sperm and can get someone pregnant to go get a vasectomy. Part of the allure, the more sincere tweets allege, is that vasectomies are reversible, meaning a guy of any age, with or without kids, could use it like a temporary contraceptive.

Except, this isnt invariably the case. As well as not always being reversible and, in rare cases, failing at preventing pregnancy vasectomies arent as easy to access as you might think. Men face many of the same barriers as women seeking sterilization, including resistance from doctors based on the fact that they might change their mind, as well as an astronomical expense if they do decide to (and are able to) reverse it. Likewise, calling for forced sterilization of any kind misses the point in the argument for everyone having bodily autonomy. Importantly, vasectomies dont solve the abortion debate just as any form of birth control isnt an alternative for abortion, a vasectomy doesnt reduce the need for an abortion when one is needed.

In response to all this, Georgia Grainger, a PhD student at Glasgows Centre for the Social History of Health & Healthcare who researches the history of vasectomies, shared a Twitter thread explaining why shes going to lose her shit if she sees one more feminist suggest mandatory vasectomies for men, that vasectomies prevent abortion or that vasectomies are any kind of solution to this situation. Unsurprisingly, her thread got a lot of heat, both from anti-abortion and pro-abortion activists alike.

So, to delve deeper into the controversial debate and learn why mandatory vasectomies arent a solution I asked Grainger to expand on her thread, share the history of forced sterilization in the U.S. and highlight some of the conversations we should be having instead.

At one point, there actually were mandatory vasectomies for some men in the U.S. Can you briefly explain the history of that?

Mandatory vasectomies in the U.S. began in 1899 with [a physician named] Dr. Sharp, who began vasectomizing inmates at the Indiana Reformatory in Jeffersonville. At first he thought it might change their behavior to make them less likely to be violent or sexual kind of like castrating a dog for behavioral problems because they didnt fully understand the impact of hormones yet. For the record, a vasectomy doesnt impact testosterone production at all, whereas castration [which removes the testicles and is a totally different procedure] does. But even castration doesnt make people less violent, as far as were aware, so none of it really worked the way Sharp thought it would.

However, after beginning these sterilizations for behavioral reasons, the rise of the ideology of eugenics that bad traits (like criminality or mental disability) could be bred out of people led to vasectomies being used for that in early 20th century America. Thinking that men (and women) in prison or institutions for disabled people must have undesirable traits that shouldnt be passed onto future generations, states began to bring in legislation to authorize eugenic sterilization: vasectomies for men, and tubal ligation or hysterectomies for women.

In total, 30 states had legislation for eugenic sterilization [at first, this was for prisoners and those in institutions, but after World War II, poor people and minorities were targeted, too]. Some had involuntary eugenic sterilization, where doctors could perform it without the patients consent, while others had voluntary eugenic sterilization, where patients were often promised shorter prison times or other benefits if they consented. But as many of those sterilized had developmental or mental disabilities, how much they could consent is unclear.

In 1927, the Supreme Court upheld the case Buck v. Bell which has never been overturned allowing non-consensual (compulsory) sterilization of the unfit (disabled people) in Virginia. Approximately 64,000 Americans were sterilized for eugenic reasons by 1963, with 39 percent of those being men given vasectomies. A disproportionate amount of those sterilized were people of color, with Black and Latinx people in particular being sterilized in huge numbers. Though this practice isnt well-known, disabled people can still be sterilized against their consent in 31 states not through old laws that have not been repealed, but through current and sometimes recently enacted laws.

Why, then, are mandatory vasectomies not a solution to the current abortion situation?

While I completely understand the anger of having our bodies controlled, I see a lot of people calling for mandatory vasectomies as a response, suggesting that men could have their vasectomies reversed when they want to be a father or, sometimes, when they prove theyre capable of being a father. These calls are usually not serious although Ive seen some people say they are completely serious and are instead to show how absurd abortion bans are.

However, there are a few issues I have with them. First is that they spread false information that vasectomies are just long-acting reversible contraceptives (like IUDs). This isnt true. A lot of vasectomies cant be reversed. But, beyond that, many men have been forcibly vasectomized throughout U.S. history as far as I understand, the estimates are over 30,000 men in the 20th century.

So mandatory vasectomies arent really a useful tool to show how absurd the abortion ban is, as theyve already been used legally for over a century in America. Many people calling for them arent aware of this aspect of U.S. history, because its not widely taught. So I think this is a really important time to educate people on the fact that what theyre satirically calling for has happened in recent U.S. history.

How did people respond to your Twitter thread criticizing calls for mandatory vasectomies?

Ive had hundreds of people tell me theyve learned a lot, and that they didnt know about the involuntary eugenic sterilization programs in U.S. history. Ive had some people say that even with that knowledge, theyd continue calling for mandatory sterilization, which is absolutely their choice, but I think the number of people saying they didnt know about it and would no longer use that argument really demonstrates why this kind of education is necessary.

Ive been surprised that some feminists were angry at me for, as they put it, centering the discussion on men. I can understand that anger especially at a time when there is so much anger to feel but Im only sharing my research specialism, which does happen to be about mens contraceptive choices, as well as responding to posts already centering men by suggesting we force vasectomies. Im not trying to make this about mens feelings at a time when I believe womens feelings and experiences should be forefront; instead Im trying to educate people about the reality of forced sterilization, and how its not as unlikely a scenario as people might think and that it has historically been used to disproportionately affect people of color and disabled people.

What do you think of the skyrocketing interest in vasectomies post Roe v. Wade being overturned?

Ive seen a lot of men talk about how this development has encouraged them to book their vasectomy consultation, which I think is fantastic. Vasectomies are a relatively low-risk option, and are as reliable as other contraceptive options. I definitely recommend that any men who dont want children, or who already have as many children as theyd like, think about whether a vasectomy is an option for them, and talk to their doctor about it.

However, the increased interest in mandatory vasectomies is upsetting, because it demonstrates how little people recognize that, historically, restricted reproductive rights for women have also come alongside restricted reproductive rights for marginalized men. Yes, the men on the Supreme Court are unlikely to ever be subjected to mandatory vasectomies, but there are thousands of men across the U.S. who a lot of the conservative right-wing would probably be quite happy to vasectomize, and I dont think we should encourage them even as a rhetorical device.

What conversations about vasectomies, birth control and abortion should we be having instead?

Something that a lot of women dont realize is how difficult it can be for men to even access vasectomies. Were used to being told that were too young, will change our minds and other patronizing things when we ask for permanent sterilization options, and I think its easy to assume that men wouldnt be told that, but they are. Ive heard from countless men whove tried to get a vasectomy but were told they had to be over 35 if they didnt have children, or over 30 if they did, and that theyd have to have their wifes permission, or, if they werent married, they wouldnt be approved for one.

So, along with better provision of contraceptive options for women and fewer restrictions on access to them, we also need to be making it easier for men to take responsibility when they want to. We need reproductive choice for everyone.

I know you dont have a ton of abortion access where you are either. How does it feel watching the events in America unfold? Whats it been like in the U.K.?

Its difficult to watch. Im from Northern Ireland, which has never had legal access to abortion; recently abortion itself was decriminalized there, but theres no actual health-care provision for it (no abortion clinics, doctors, etc.), so pregnant people still have to travel to England to get an abortion. Theres also been an uptick in anti-abortion protests in Scotland where I live now alongside an increase in right-wing attacks on LGBTQ+ rights.

Though not as severe as the shift in the U.S, I think our anti-choice, anti-queer campaigners are being encouraged by the developments in the U.S, and are seeing it as their time to be louder here too, which is scary. It demonstrates how international these ideas and trends are, and how important it is for us to learn from and support one another. A lot of campaigners in Europe especially in Ireland and Poland have spent decades campaigning for abortion rights and providing illegal-but-safe abortions, so theres a lot of knowledge and strategies there for American campaigners to pull from as well. Theres solidarity on this side of the Atlantic for American women right now, as we know the struggles all too well.

Brit Dawson is a London-based journalist who mostly writes about sex, women's rights and sex work. She is also the staff writer at Dazed.

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A Vasectomy Historian on Why Male Sterilization Won't Solve the Abortion Problem - MEL Magazine