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Interest In Permanent Contraception Rose After Roe v. Wade was Overturned

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Jan 7, 2025.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Jan. 7, 2024 -- Abortion bans have led many young people to decide they’d rather forego having kids than ever face that dilemma.

A surge in permanent contraception immediately followed the 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, researchers said in a new study published Jan. 6 in the journal Health Affairs.

Tubal sterilization increased by 70% among women 19 to 26 between May 2022 and Aug. 2022, according to insurance claims data analyzed by the researchers.

Vasectomies also increased by 95% among young men in that age range.

Further, the surge in tubal sterilization and vasectomy occurred mainly in states likely to ban abortion, researchers reported.

“Our study shows that the Dobbs decision has had a profound effect on young adults’ reproductive choices, leading many to opt for permanent contraception in the months following the decision,” lead researcher Julia Strasser, director of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health at the George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, said in a news release from the college.

Survey results included in the study quoted young people fearful of losing their rights and their ability to decide when to become parents.

“It’s gotten me to make sure I cannot get pregnant. I’m even getting my tubes tied,” a 21-year-old woman from the South told pollsters.

The decision that overturned Roe, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, was leaked to the press in May 2022 and handed down in June 2022.

For this study, researchers analyzed U.S. health care claims data between 2021 and 2022 reflecting about 191 million patients.

Results show that 799 more tubal sterilizations and 346 more vasectomies were performed between the Dobbs leak and the end of that summer compared with the year before, among young adults 19 to 26.

Significantly more permanent sterilizations occurred each month in states likely to ban abortion, compared with states likely to support abortion rights.

The results found no such surge in permanent contraception among adults 27 to 44, “suggesting that young adults may be driving increased use of these methods post-Dobbs,” the research team wrote.

The researchers also analyzed survey results from the regular MyVoice poll of teenagers and young adults to see what might have driven this surge in permanent sterilization.

In the survey, respondents made comments like:

• “It has made me want to be sterilized more. Because the pill isn’t 100% effective and I’m afraid of losing access to it, and I do not want children in the future and would much rather be sterilized. I’m afraid of getting pregnant and not being able to make decisions for myself.”

• “There are a surprising amount of people who, before Roe v. Wade was overturned, wanted kids, who are now opting for more permanent sterilization because they don’t want to have children in a country where something like that is possible and they refuse to bring them into it.”

• “Most young people will most likely get tub[e]s tied, hysterectomies and vasectomy till the Supreme Court outlaws that too.”

• “People are getting sterilized to stay safe.”

Doctors need to prepare themselves for more frank discussions with young patients related to permanent sterilization and sexual health, researchers warned.

“While access to all contraceptive methods - including permanent ones - is critical for reproductive autonomy, young people should not feel coerced into making decisions based on fear and uncertainty surrounding their rights,” Strasser concluded.

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted January 2025

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