The fertility rate in the US has been steadily declining over the years due to many reasons. Partnerships aren’t so heavily based around the nuclear family model anymore and many have no desire to have children. There are also many environmental reasons why someone would choose to not want kids. Those who do choose to have kids nowadays tend to want less than those in the past. A pretty obvious solution to the dilemma of not wanting kids would be to get sterilized, however there are many unofficial policies put in place by doctors around the country to prevent women from getting hysterectomies.
A large number of states have said laws to inhibit a woman from getting sterilized are unconstitutional, although that hasn’t been declared on a national level. Despite there not being official laws to prevent the surgery, many doctors have their own policies and refuse sterilization for many reasons. These preventative rules can very easily be seen as controlling of a person’s body and freewill. A notorious example of these policies is requiring a husband’s approval for a woman to get a hysterectomy. Many women have also been declined sterilization due to being too young or not being married.
I think doctors need to inform their patients on the pros and cons of every procedure they do, but it’s not up to a doctor to decide if a woman will want children in the future. I think medical professionals and society in general needs to not put such an importance on having children and we need to trust women when they make decisions for themselves. We shouldn’t assume having children to be the default. There needs to be a shift in public opinion on the nuclear family model and the expectations for relationship dynamics.
Do you think the policies many doctors have towards performing hysterectomies are too restrictive?
How young do you think a woman should be before being allowed to have a hysterectomy?
Fain, M. K. “In 2020, Women Still Need Their Husband's Permission to Get Sterilized.” 4W, 4W - A Feminist Publication, 3 May 2020, 4w.pub/in-2020-women-still-need-their-husbands-permission-to-get-sterilized/.
Replies
Interesting topic choice and great job overall Vanessa!
I absolutely agree that the policies are too restrictive. A doctor should, like you said, educate their patient on all sides of the procedure, but they should not force their patients to do or not do something. Women are not only here to produce babies. Plenty of women have zero desire to have children, and some women just physically cannot go through the process of a pregnancy/birth without getting seriously sicl or dying. it's crazy to me that people don't see how it's the woman's choice to decide is SHE will have kids or not.
I think the age should start at 18. Many 18 year olds are very mature and are devolped brain-wise too. Although there will not be many 18 year olds that will want to get one, I think everyone has different circumstances so I think the ages should be broader than what they are now.
I think that women are the ones who should choose if they want a historectomy but still the worlds population could go down a little bit for hunger and polution reasons. But I think that women should be at least 28-35 to decide if they want children since 35 is usually the age of people wanting children or younger.
I think someone should be allowed to get a hysterectomy much younger than 28. Most people are sexually active before 28 and are already fully developed brain-wise before then. I think people are competant enough to decide if they want to give birth to kids younger than 28. Also, there's other ways to have children besides giving birth.
I think that it should be left up to the woman if they want a hysterectomy. A lot of women do this after they've had their children and don't want to deal with the potential of getting pregnant again. I do think you should have to be a certain age before you can decide to get a hysterectomy, personally I think 21 or 25 is a good age. By then people are going to be more confident in their decision to have/not have children.
I agree. If someone could have a child and be socially accepted, then I think they should be able to get sterilized. In my opinion, having a child is more of a permanent decision than getting a hysterectomy because there are other ways to have children.
I think that doctors are right to have very strict policies toward performing hysterectomies. If doctors did not have such strict guidelines in place it could lead to a lot of regret in the future. If they weren't this strict this could open doctors up to legal problems. How are you going to know what you are going to want at 32 when you are just 18? Who knows you get a hysterectomy at 18 then find the love of your life and want to start a family, and then you remember you can’t? Your ideas and prospects change as you get older which is why I don't think that young women should get hysterectomies.
I agree that all the risks and permanence of the procedure needs to be told to the women wanting the procedure, but women as old as 32 have been told their too young to have a hysterectomy. I think we need to believe women more when they say they don't want to give birth to children and it shoudn't be seen as something they'll "grow out of."
I definitely think the policies are too restrictive. Women should be able to make the decision, whenever they want to, weather or not they want children. Honestly, I believe that once you are 18 you should be able to choose weather you want to get sterilized or not. And in my opinion you should 100% not need your husbands permission to do so.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next