Last week, prominent mommy blogger Katie Allison Granju wrote a truly startling article titled “Husband Want a Vasectomy? He’ll Have to Ask Your Permission.” Granju, a mother of five children, revealed that when she and her husband decided together that he get a vasectomy, she was required to sign before he could snip.
[A]pparently, many doctors in this country really do require men who come to them seeking vasectomies to fess up to marital status, and to then get their wives’ written consent before the physician will perform the procedure? In some cases, doctors require a face to face meeting with a man’s wife—in addition to the signed consent from her—before a vasectomy will be performed.
A story like this should have caused riptides among sexual rights activists (it certainly made my ears ring), but the only place I saw it covered was over at Instapundit, which struck me as odd. A Google search revealed a wide array of personal accounts that backed Granju up, but plenty that dismissed the practice as a rumor. What’s a journalist to believe?
So I checked with some urologists to find out. Here’s Dr. Charles Wilson from the Vasectomy Clinic in Seattle:
In terms of good medical practice, most doctors would be a little concerned—if not alarmed—if their patient didn’t talk to their spouse. I’m on the side of allowing men to make the decision even if they’re not going to tell their spouse but not without a whole lot of counseling and discussion. I want to be sure that if he’s making that decision, he’s thought about all the repercussions. Frankly, some men just don’t get it.
And Dr. Ira D. Sharlip, Chair of American Urological Association’s Vasectomy Guideline Panel:
There’s no legal requirement for spousal consent and no minimum age for vasectomy other than the minimum age of consent. But while it’s not necessary to have spousal consent, it’s a really good idea, and involving the spouse in the decision is encouraged.
Simple, boring, safe. But then where are all of these accounts coming from?
Well, according to Janet Crepps, a lawyer at the Center for Reproductive Rights, while there’s absolutely no law requiring men to obtain their partner’s consent, it can be imposed on a case-by-case basis at a clinical level.
Doctors can impose requirements in a private setting in order to protect themselves legally. It’s their choice that they want to do that. While it would be pretty difficult for a wife to successfully sue a doctor for doing a vasectomy on her husband, it wouldn’t surprise me if their legal counsel insisted that they would be better off getting that consent. That said, nobody I know is imposing that kind of requirement.
In short, doctors are given license to decide on whom they perform surgery based on medical judgment and experience, but most of them seem to be conducting themselves reasonably and ethically.
But what if the genders had been reversed? What if we took out the words “urologists” and “vasectomy” and replaced them with “gynecologists” and “tubal ligation,” or even “abortion”?
Is there a double standard here, folks? And for those of you with vasectomy experience, care to share? Leave it below.
About Lu Fong
Vasectomy and abortion are not comparable. They are not even apple to orange; they are like apple to a potassium cyanide capsule. Abortion does not involve only a woman’s body, it also involves a baby’s body inside; vasectomy does not involve any other human body than the man who is opting for it. Vasectomy does not involve crushing a skull, tearing of limbs and such other gory details. Come on those of you who are brain washed by feminism – it’s not that you actually do not understand the difference; you just choose to show as if you do not. I heard hypocrisy has a limit – seems that’s not true the more I am exposed to feminism.
I can’t believe women are even attempting to make an argument over this. The good news is, more and more men are starting to wake up to the BS that some women as a group are pushing.
You get to have an abortion over my objection, but I need your signed approval for a vasectomy?
Tell me again who is trying to control who?
The more I learn the clearer it becomes that the reproductive rights groups are anti-choice for men. They want men to have no reproductive rights whatsoever.
BS.
There are countless women and men out here trying to figure this out. Heather and I, Joanna? Feminists! Focused on reproductive rights! Say it every day with people I talk to in the groups I frequent.
I know hundreds of women who want RISUG and men involved here in TX for Repro rights, clinics, education, equality, and yes access. Men Women. Think of that.
This kind of generalizing Eric? While it must feel really good? Helps NO ONE.
I wish I was on the ballot right now running for office where I could be like BIRTH CONTROL FOR EVERYONE!!!! SEX ED FOR EVERYONE!!! I wouldn’t win you know why? Because there are as many or MORE conservative people in this country who think there should be NO sex ed, NO access to BC (no matter who pays for it) NO choice around abortion, NO alternative forms of marriage and custody and NO sex for pure pleasure.
That’s not feminism. That’s the religious right.
I know SO many sex positive activists focused on men and men’s health. So many. There are thousands and thousands of people out there doing this work. Thing is? Most of them are queer. Alternative. Not catholic. Into sex toys and porn and pleasure.
You want Men’s Reproductive Rights? You’ll need to work with and ally with the queer, the liberal, the alternative.
That’s probably the only way to undo the bullshit sex negative stuff we’ve been saddled with.
Don’t claim to know what all and everyone involved in repro rights thinks. You don’t know.
“You want Men’s Reproductive Rights? You’ll need to work with and ally with the queer, the liberal, the alternative.”
This, I think, is the heart of it. A lot of the same people I see asking for male reproductive rights are also quite conservative when it comes other aspects of sex and sexual liberation. Meanwhile, a lot of the people I know who are more open-minded with regards to sex are also advocates of male reproductive rights. I think Julie’s right on the money here in saying that it’s the religious right that’s probably the biggest hurdle when it comes to male reproductive rights, because they’re the biggest hurdle when it comes to sexual rights, full stop.
Heather …. your another sheeple on this …. it is the left that has put money to push the AMA and the American Academy o f Urologists ….. I have some knowledge on this ….. I practice medicine
Im sorry but if what you said was true than why would Feminist boycott Dr. Coutinho’s Male birth control pill on the basis that they didn’t believe men wold be responsible enough to take it which if they weren’t for whatever reason; their is still the women’s contraceptive there as a safety net. Doesn’t this kinda invalidate what you just said by being self evident?
So stupid Julie ….. BEFORE we had sex ed in schools, free condoms, access to birth control pills for teenage girls without parents consent the national rate of abortion and birth out of wedlock (#1 predictor of female poverty!) was 230% LESS!!!! GOOD JOB FEMINISM!!! You really did a good one here!!!
So much for the “War on women!”
Right on honey!!! (that’s my wife!!
My urologist required written permission, signed in front of him, from my wife, to have a vasectomy.
Interesting that 2 years later, when she became pregnant as the result of an affair…I had no say so in her decision to keep the child, divorce me and sue for child support. In my state…the “married spouse” is considered the legal father, regardless…and you’re on the hook for 2 years, at which time the state will allow DNA testing.
I’m sick to death of the blathering of the lefty feminist hardass women that scream about “institutional rape” and a dozen other terms when someone even DARES talk about regulating abortion or sterilization. Grow a set honey, life is tough all over.
Great reply Noel!!!
““You want Men’s Reproductive Rights? You’ll need to work with and ally with the queer, the liberal, the alternative.”
I doubt homosexuals much care about vasectomy or other men’s post conception reproductive issues, as it has no effect on their lives. Pregnancy is not high on their list of concerns.
The so-called pro-choice movement is most complicit because of the hypocrisy. At least the catholic church is open about their opposition. If this were happening to women, Sandra Fluke and the many who supported her would be outside the Capital with picket signs. They obviously couldn’t care less. Their silent indifference speaks volumes.
This entire site is dependent on the opinion of women not men themselves. Why don’t we define our own manhood’s.
This is outrageous!!!! Its my bosy and my testicales!!! Who in the hell should have the right to tell a grown man that he needs permission to have a medical procedure performed on thier own body!!
I experienced this yesterday with the Urologist office in South Carolina as I had scheduled a Chinese procedure.. The lady told me that I would have to have a consent form signed by my wife… I though she was joking..
Does any othe man out there know of a good attorney that is heading up the law suites for this..?
I am one angry guy today !!! Whi in the hell do these right wing idiots think they are…
Perhaps they would also like to control who can wipe our ass when we take a @%!*..!!!
Its called the Menopausal Mafia in America… Men we need to ban together on this one!!! We are already getting our ass handed to us with Child Support,Father Rights, and now this shit!!!
This is a violation of our rights..!!
I wont stop until I get satisfaction on this…
No one should require another’s consent but you’d be an asshole to get a tubal, vasectomy, abortion without informing your partner in most cases. It’d be terrible to have someone try for a baby when the other knows they’re infertile and keeps quiet on it…
Re the last sentence of the Center for Reproductive Rights lawyer quote:-
“That said, nobody I know is imposing that kind of requirement.”
A quick browse of the Web will show many many people are asking for permission. There ignorance shows how much the CRR knows or cares about men’s reproductive rights.