With the return of Donald Trump to the White House, interest in sterilization is exploding among young Americans who fear a total ban on abortion in the United States.
In New England, where termination of pregnancy is legal up to the 24th week of gestation, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America reports a 368% increase in vasectomy consultations since the November election.
The organization also noted a “dramatic increase” in searches for fallopian tube ligation on its website.
In California, Pennsylvania, Florida and even New York, young people also told Washington Post that they consider resorting to sterilization to avoid the potentially dramatic implications of an unplanned pregnancy in the years to come.
Interest in permanent sterilization solutions is likely to continue to increase if restrictions on abortion extend further across the country, experts say.
Currently, 20 states ban or significantly limit access to abortion in the United States.
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On the rise since 2022
In 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, who had guaranteed the right to abortion nationwide for nearly half a century.
AFP
This decision had the effect of an electric shock for many Americans.
-Between May and August 2022, vasectomies increased by 95% among men and tubal sterilizations jumped by 70% among women, according to a study published this month in the journal Health Affairs.
Last spring, the JAMA Health Forum also reported an increase in permanent contraceptive procedures among adults aged 18 to 30.
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Young people are fleeing conservative states
Two years after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, thousands of Americans living in parts of the United States where abortion is strictly prohibited are choosing to flee those states, according to a new study.
The 13 states with strict abortion bans, from Alabama to West Virginia, have collectively lost 36,000 residents per quarter since 2022, finds an analysis by economists at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the College of Wooster released this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Young people under 30 are leaving these states at a higher rate than families, according to analysts.
− With information from Washington Post and CBS News
