If you're reading this article, you're probably already familiar with the ongoing debate surrounding reproductive rights in the United States. You probably just thought that reproductive rights means abortion rights- though technically any miscarriage is an abortion according to the definition of the word.
I understand that some people think abortion is right and some think it's wrong, but before you throw a fit, that's not what this article is about. This is about the other side of choice.
I'm only twenty, but I've been asking about sterilization since I was eighteen. I'm very candid about my time of the month and it really isn't pretty- I would give up my ability to have children to escape from the prison that is my monthly visitor- yet every time I've asked, I've been met with these answers.
-"You might change your mind."
-"What if your partner wants kids?"
-"Wait until you're 35."
But I ask why my age matters, and I also ask why it matters that someone I'm in a relationship with may want children. I don't want children. I would be a terrible mother. If someone wants children then we're just not compatible, not to mention I have tokophobia- I'm actually terrified of pregnancy.
That's not all- I know men in their twenties who had vasectomies in their early twenties or even as early as eighteen or nineteen, which really isn't fair.
Think about it this way- women can't even get full coverage on birth control, but most insurance plans cover Viagra and other treatments for erectile dysfunction, meaning men's ability to have sex trumps a woman's right to have safe sex and to control her body.
Think about it this way- I know I never want children. My IUD, while used for my period trouble, would run me around $700, every 3 years for my entire reproductive life. Age twenty to age 45 is 25 years. 25 years divided into every 3 years is 8 years. 8 years x $700 = around $5,600. Why would I spend that if I can just get a one time tubal ligation at around $1500 without insurance help?
I'm not advocating for every woman to be sterilized, merely every woman who wants to, and trust me, I know quite a few.
There is still shame attached to women who don't want to be mothers and it's our job to lift that- to make them feel it's okay to take preventative measures, and to make sure those preventative measures can be taken.
To everyone who wants to see the abortion rate down- these issues should be your number one priority- and for those of you, like me, who are pro-choice, choice doesn't just mean abortion rights. Choice means right to preventative measures and affordable treatments for issues related to women's reproductive health.
If a woman wants to get her "tubes tied"- also known as a tubal ligation- she should be able to whether she is 18 or 40. Women are adults, and therefore are able to deal with consequences. Plus, tubal litigation is reversible in many cases.
Whether you're against abortion or pro-choice, we should all agree- these issues matter. So end the stigma on tubal litigation, IUD's and other kinds of birth control, because women need us to.
