NORTH MIAMI, Fla. – The decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade has lead to a spike in the number of men scheduling vasectomies, according to a South Florida doctor.
Dr. David Robbins is a urologist based in North Miami who performs hundreds of vasectomies every year.
“I think yesterday specifically was when my staff really started to notice a change,” said Robbins.
Following the Supreme Court’s landmark decision last week overturning Roe vs. Wade, he says calls to his clinic have been non-stop.
“Whereas we’re doing 400 to 500 a year, maybe between 8 to 16 or 20 a week, now all of a sudden just yesterday, the volume was noticeable from the staff. So I was in the operating room yesterday and the staff called me up and said wow, we got an incredible number of phone calls today. Specifically people citing this change in law,” said Robbins.
The Roe reversal means access to abortion now depends on which state people live in. In the state of Florida, lawmakers passed a ban on abortions after 15 weeks, a law that is now being challenged in court.
“I did not notice really a specific change when the initial document from the Supreme Court was leaked. But more specifically now, with the change in Roe v. Wade and the potential upcoming change in Florida, it’s a precipitous change where I was doing a lot, and now the demand is sort of overwhelming to the point where I’m considering coming in on a Saturday and just knocking out 10 or 12 vasectomies just to keep up with the demand,” said Robbins.
While interest in vasectomies has risen, Dr. Robbins says many men don’t realize the procedure is permanent.
“So when you’re deciding to chose a vasectomy, it should be something that is final. There is no reversing it. There are reversals but they’re not guaranteed to work. They’re not covered by insurance, they’re certainly not 100 percent effective. So it’s a great way to achieve permanent infertility,” said Robbins.
The most common form of permanent contraception for couples is tubal ligation. However, Dr. Robbins says vasectomies are not only safe, they are less invasive.
“18 percent of women are getting tubal ligations and only about six percent of men are getting vasectomies. But when you look at the two procedures, a vasectomy is much safer and easier to do than a tubal ligation. A vasectomy is a very simple office space procedure. It’s done in 15 minutes under local anesthesia. Minimal to no pain. And a really easy recovery,” said Robbins.