Boom in sterilizations among American women, two years after the Roe v. Wading

This is a new consequence of restrictions on access to abortion in the United States, highlighted on Friday 12 April by a study published in the scientific journal JAMA. While the case Roe v. Wade, the number of sterilizations used as contraceptives in the country has seen a sharp increase. It is not surprising that it is women above all who are once again shouldering this contraceptive burden.

A leap from Roe v. Wading

The rate of sterilization has been increasing on American soil for several years. Just before constitutional protection of abortion was revoked, there were an average of 2.8 procedures per 100,000 women per month and one per 100,000 men. Post-Roe v. Wade, the numbers no longer matter: among people aged between 18 and 30, there are now 58 sterilization procedures per 100,000 women every month and 27 per 100,000 men.

After the initial shock of the case law reversal, however, the number of vasectomies among men declined, returning to previous trends, the researchers note. In contrast, the rate of tubal ligations among women has continued to increase more rapidly than before the Supreme Court decision.

The brunt of the burden of contraception still falls on women

This notable difference “probably reflects the fact that young women bear much of the responsibility for preventing pregnancies, estimates the study’s lead author, Jacqueline Ellison, of the University of Pittsburgh, in a press release seen by AFP. And they disproportionately suffer the health, social and economic consequences of abortion bans. »

However, sterilization procedures are much more complex for women and two to six times more expensive than for men, the study authors add. Furthermore, reversing female sterilization involves undertaking complex and invasive surgery, which is much less true for men.

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