A 23-year-old woman was informed by her gynecologist that she couldn’t “have her tubes tied” in case she met “Mr. Right” despite the fact that she knows she doesn’t want children.
There appears to be an ongoing struggle over who has an ultimate say over what a woman does with her body. (spoiler alert: the answer is the woman herself).
When a woman wants to have her tubes tied (female sterilization) because she does not want to have children in her lifetime, shouldn’t that be respected?
Some medical professionals, it appears, take things into their own hands and refuse to perform procedures if they do not believe the individual has made the correct decision.
Olivia Downs was certain she didn’t want children, as she described in a TikTok video about her “infuriating” experience with her gynecologist.
“I’ve known I didn’t want children since I was old enough to think about it,” Olivia began.
She went on to say that her gynecologist told her the operation was irreversible. Olivia replied that she was aware of this, so she inquired.
Having children is “not in my five-year-plan, 10-year-plan, or 50-year-plan. I don’t want them,” Olivia stated, but her doctor was unmoved, stating that she might alter her mind after meeting “Mr. Right.”
The gynecologist then presented the 23-year-old with options such as having an IUD, which is a small t-shaped plastic and copper contraceptive device known as the coil.
Olivia joked, claiming to be her doctor, “We put it in your uterus, and you cramp and bleed for three months.”
It’s fair to say that the gynecologist’s remarks to Olivia did not sit well with those who saw them, and they were quick to express their displeasure.
“Keep fighting. I spent a decade trying to get mine done. You will find the right doctor. It’s just hell getting there,” one person wrote.
A second added: “I’m 22 and child free, had mine tied 6 weeks ago, it took me 4 different doctors to finally find one to do the procedure, don’t give up.”
“[I] swear this country has a vendetta against women and their wants/needs,” a third said, to which Olivia agreed.
Female sterilization is thought to be a permanent method of preventing conception by blocking the fallopian tubes. According to a 2012 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey, roughly 27% of American women of reproductive age use female sterilization as a method of birth control.
While there is no legal requirement for a woman to be a certain age to endure the procedure, some women have claimed that their physicians tried to discourage them from having the procedure done when they were young, even if they were certain of their decision.
Perhaps it’s time to give women the ultimate say on whether or not to have children.
