The rates of young people seeking permanent contraception increased drastically following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June of 2022, a new study released Friday has revealed.
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Boston University examined male and female procedures for 18- to 30-year-olds between 2019 and 2022 and compared them with 2022 to 2023 rates.
Publishing in the JAMA Health Forum, authors Jacqueline Ellison, Brittany Brown-Podgorski and Jake Morgan documented increases in demand for tubal sterilization for women and vasectomies for men. Prior to the Dobbs decision, researchers found tubal ligations had increased by 2.84 procedures per 100,000 visits per month. After the ruling, tubal ligations increased to 5.3 procedures per month.
The study also found that the rate of women undergoing tubal ligations post-Dobbs increased to about 58 procedures per 100,000 visits, while the average rate for men increased to about 27 procedures per 100,000.
The researchers noted that their "findings do not provide insight into the differential experiences of Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, disabled, immigrant, and low-income women, who disproportionately encounter interference and coercion in their contraceptive decision-making."
While the authors acknowledged the study's limitations, they did suggest that the rapid increase in permanent contraception rates may be a direct result of the Dobbs decision.
"This change may reflect fears of restricted access to abortion and/or contraception. However, no research, to our knowledge, has evaluated the differential effect of Dobbs on permanent contraception among men relative to women or among younger adults who are more likely to have an abortion and to experience sterilization regret," the researchers wrote.