Interest in vasectomies spikes after Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

As conversations about changing abortion laws continue, more men are becoming proactive about birth control and considering vasectomies.

“This is the room where we perform the vasectomy,” said Dr. Lawrence Yore from Advanced Urology of South Florida.

Advanced Urology of South Florida has been a lot busier in recent weeks because of the reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“We’ve seen probably a 20 to 30% increase in people calling and inquiring about vasectomies,” said Yore.

Of the common birth control methods, Yore says, a vasectomy is among the most reliable, which helps to drive the spike in interest.

“With changes in the laws, I think some people are nervous, especially those in red states like ours,” he said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen and you don’t want to have an unplanned pregnancy.”

And the spike isn’t just in Florida; according to a Web MD article, some physicians have seen vasectomies increase from 12 to 18 a day.

Google Analytics also shows a 99% jump in vasectomy-related web searches that began after the Supreme Court decision was leaked and a 250% increase in search about the success rate.

Still, Yore says he doesn’t recommend the procedure for everyone.

“I’ve had some young guys in their early 20s who aren’t even married yet saying they want a vasectomy, and I really try to discourage that because it’s simple to do but not always easy to reverse.”

Yore says reversing a vasectomy is a much more invasive surgical procedure, so it should not be done by people who may want to have children later in life.

As for the vasectomy itself, it generally costs under $500 and can be done in a matter of minutes without anesthesia.

“It’s very simple, straightforward, it takes about 15 minutes. Most men, we can do it in the office and we’ve instituted nitroxide, laughing gas,” said Yore.