LogFAQs > #980104918

Jkd91 posted...

That's actually pretty crazy that you could then sue if you change your mind, seems like the sort of thing that if you decide to go through it then you're done.

I don't know how often it actually happens, nor how often those suits are successful, but with the prevailing cultural norm that women are expected to want kids and there there's therefore something wrong with any that don't, many doctors choose to simply avoid the issue entirely by refusing to do sterilizations. Unless a woman already has multiple kids (and even then it's still often an uphill battle), it's not at all unusual to have to go through multiple doctors, get psych evaluations, and/or have their husbands sign permission slips (if they aren't married, they're out of luck) before any doctor will be willing to do the procedure.

Of course, this is assuming the woman in question is white. Minority women still pretty often get sterilized without their consent, because there are still too many genocidal maniacs practicing medicine.

Jkd91 posted...

I got a vasectomy at the beginning of the month and needed a referral from a doctor which took about 30 seconds, he literally asked if i wanted children and if i was sure then sent the necessary stuff to the clinic.

I've no idea how easy it would be for a woman to get it done here (england) but for a man its super easy.

That's generally how it works in the US and Canada as well. Vasectomies are all but offered in drive-thrus; men not wanting kids is seen as totally normal and something doctors are happy to accommodate. There are the facts that vasectomies are a less invasive procedure than tubals, and are a more effective form of birth control, and can be reversed more easily (the failure rate is non-negligible, but low enough that changing your mind later due to changing circumstances isn't the end of the world), all of which mean that if a couple wants to be sterilized it makes more sense for the man to do it, but even outside of couples or other cases where a decision is clearly being made between a vasectomy and a tubal men have a much easier time of getting sterilized.