World Vasectomy Day allows men to celebrate their families and their role in family planning. And yes, this is changing the world.
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Just this past November 13th, over 700 doctors in 40 countries participated in World Vasectomy Day. We don’t yet know the total number of vasectomies performed nor exactly how many doctors participated, but at our headquarters in Bali, there were 32 beautiful volunteer families that showed up and five doctors who contributed their knowledge including our own Dr. Doug Stein and Dr. Ramon Suarez.
Adding magic to the day was a troupe of young deaf artists dancing to the music of a blind Gamelan orchestra who serenaded our live-stream, as we video conferenced with doctors, patients, family planning experts and government leaders from over a dozen countries. It was a day full of love, generosity and gratitude.
Then, just as WVD 2015 was coming to a close, tragedy unfolded in Paris. It’s impossible to find words that make sense of the pain and suffering, or the reasons that motivate such hatred and anger, but watching the horrors from afar, I was reminded that the seeds for creating World Vasectomy Day date back to the tragedy that unfolded in my own city on September 11th, 2001.
In the days, weeks and years that followed 9/11, I kept asking myself, “If 19 men in a single morning can set off a chain of violence that, not only takes down buildings and kills 2,977 innocent people, but leads to wars that destroy entire countries—what could we do as storytellers that would have the opposite effect?”
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I had always made films with a social purpose, but simply revealing wrong doing on the planet was no longer sufficient. Instead of reporting on what was wrong or even documenting positive responses to negative behavior, I wanted to figure out how to use media to help create the change I wanted to see.
As I continued to work across the planet, I became increasingly compelled by what I called The People Paradox. For years I’ve wondered, how is it that the same species, and even the same person, capable of extraordinary acts of kindness, was equally capable of intense cruelty? As a storyteller, it is my choice which end of the behavioral spectrum to focus on, so as I traveled to war zones, slums, prisons and death row, I committed to finding the best in people even in the worst of circumstances.
In 2010, while working on a film about population on the planet, I met Dr. Doug Stein, one of the world’s leading providers of vasectomies. Doug’s passion was irresistible, so I responded by (a) getting my own vasectomy and (b) following him as he traveled around the world on his Sisyphean mission to lower carbon footprint… one vasectomy at a time.
Early on, I witnessed that regardless of culture, country or class, on the day men get their vasectomy, they are unusually kind and generous. Maybe having our pants down makes us particularly vulnerable, but when we voluntarily choose to exit the gene pool, we are quick to acknowledge the love we feel for our partners, our children and even the wellbeing of the planet.
It was in Kenya, on May 9th, 2011, right after George Mbogah told me that he had traveled 26 hours by bus to get a vasectomy out of love for his wife and children that I first realized I had found the answer to what I had been seeking for over a decade. That night, for reasons I cannot recall, I googled World Vasectomy Day, claimed the URL and set an intention to inspire 100 doctors in 25 countries to do 1,000 vasectomies in 24 hours. The following day, I filmed a dozen plus vasectomy patients declaring ‘I support World Vasectomy Day’ and began my campaign to build a collective movement for good, composed of individual acts of love.
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In the first year, we focused on bringing together committed and compassionate doctors. In the second year, we began reaching out to the largest family planning organizations in the world. This year we expanded our movement further, striving to build an army of vasectomy acceptors who would become champions for the cause.
The goal was never to dictate how many children a person should have. We don’t think that numbers alone determine our destiny. That said, we do believe that every single challenge we face is made more difficult to resolve with an ever larger population, and that providing choices that inspire men to participate in the most important conversation of our lives makes for a healthier society.
The world is focused once again on the horrible things men do (and to be honest, we’re talking mostly about men) and people are quick to assign blame, as fear has a way of over simplifying otherwise complex matters. In the rush to protect ourselves, we must not forget that the violence we have witnessed in Paris, Beirut, Baghdad, Libya and on that Russian plane, and the misery that both accompanies and creates it, is not due to a single faith or the inherent evil of a given culture or nation.
People aren’t born to be bad; they lose hope and become resentful and angry for lack of opportunity. Be it humiliation, hunger, alienation, hatred or a combination of all, over time, they find purpose in extreme acts of violence and rationalization for their evil deeds by perverting the true meaning of a given religion and faith.
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World Vasectomy Day is the opposite in every sense of the word. We exist to inspire men to rise up out of love in support of their partners, their children, their communities and our collective future. We are telling a love story writ large in the hearts of men on every continent and, ultimately, in every country.
We believe that a vasectomy offers men a role to play in the most intimate part of his life, and that WVD acknowledges these heroic acts in a very public forum. The procedure makes men share responsibility for family size and in so doing, greatly increases the likelihood that their children and their children’s children live a quality life. We are committed to being good stewards of the earth while encouraging the kind of dialogue that leads to a more loving home and a more peaceful world.
Yes, 19 people can cause terrible suffering, destruction is so easily accomplished, but the story of men and women working together over time, while aggregating their individual acts of kindness into a global movement for social good, is infinitely more powerful.
Therefore, after a week with my spirit clouded by anger and sorrow, I am even more resolute in my commitment to grow our movement and to make a positive difference on the planet. Today we are thousands. If we stick together some day, we will be millions.
World Vasectomy Day 2015 is over… That mean preparations for World Vasectomy Day 2016 have officially begun!
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Photo: Getty Images
Hi, please read the following guidelines from the British Association of Urology surgeons before committing to a vasectomy and fully understand the potential chronic pain risks stated :
https://www.baus.org.uk/_userfiles/pages/files/Patients/Leaflets/Vasectomy.pdf
From that source : “Troublesome chronic testicular pain is reported in up to 15% of
patients and can be severe enough to affect day-to-day activities in
up to 5%”
15% = 1 in 7
5% = 1 in 20
This totally ignores the definite possibility of post-vasectomy pain syndrome, which can be a catastrophic condition for a man in what should be the most productive years of his life, even in a first-world country. When you mix in the eugenics motive, the outcome is downright evil. I’m not saying men shouldn’t be responsible for their own family planning. I am saying people should know the risks — and there are definite risks (including having some urologists claim that your condition doesn’t exist and your pain is not real). For more information on post-vasectomy pain syndrome, visit these sites: http://www.vasectomy-information.com/post-vasectomy-pain-syndrome-scientific-review/… Read more »
Wow sterilizing men in third world countries sound pretty close to eugenics. I almost wonder if there was a financial incentive to volunteer like with those “voluntary” circumcision programs. Offering a poor person money for something is I think morally removed from voluntary. I’m all for choice for men and I’m all for equality so why not demand the Obama administration provide both? Under the Affordable Care Act insurers are not required to cover vasectomies. Wouldn’t that be a much better way to start rather than targeting poor communities? “Plans aren’t required to cover drugs to induce abortions and services… Read more »
Forcefully rejecting the greatest creative power we have…hmmm….It doesn’t even look good on paper. Does anyone ever stop to think…”Maybe this isn’t such a good idea”? But then again, that would require thinking!
This is great! I love seeing support for all people in their personal reproductive decisions.
So, if I understand, mass worldwide sterilization will somehow help prevent atrocities like 9/11 and Paris?
Mass “male” sterilization.
I guess they figure like ‘neutered’ dogs, they’re less aggressive?