Life in post-Roe v. Wade America has resulted in policy and behavioral shifts across the country.
One of the more curious trends involves more young men getting vasectomies and broadcasting the procedure on TikTok.
TikTok videos using the hashtag #vasectomy have been viewed more than 500 million times, according to The Sun.
Twenty-three-year-old Keith Laue, in consultation with his partner Taylor Ribar, made the decision to undergo the procedure after Texas passed a law banning abortions as early as six weeks of pregnancy.
“The roadblocks were significantly less for me than Taylor who had been on birth control before. She didn’t have health insurance and it was difficult for her to find birth control that did not have side effects for her,” Laue told Health. “But also, it’s not just Taylor’s responsibility to take care of contraception.”
The couple did not immediately opt for the procedure. But after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — which struck down abortion rights federally and returned the issue to states — Laue, a full-time TikTok influencer, decided it was time.
“When the leak of Roe v. Wade happened, I was like ‘I have to schedule this now. I can’t put it off anymore,’” he said.
Laue made a TikTok video discussing his vasectomy with his 241,000 followers. The video received 3.2 million views.
He said he is thankful for the traction the video has gotten and that one of the things that helped him in his decision was talking with other men.
Earlier in the year, Mike Pridgen, a New Jersey-based comedian, posted to TikTok a video of his vasectomy, which has been viewed more than two million times.
@mikepridgen I got a vasectomy. You get to join me for the procedure. (It’s just my face! I promise!) #vasectomy #medical #education
“I’m giving you a front row seat to my procedure. Join me,” he told his followers.
Pridgen filmed the entire procedure, afterwards reassuring his fans, “I just got a vasectomy. I’m in no pain right now. I’m walking.”
Mayo Clinic describes a vasectomy as a form of male birth control that cuts the supply of sperm to your semen. It is a low-risk procedure that is typically performed in an outpatient setting under local anesthesia.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe. v Wade in June, appointments for vasectomies have spiked across the U.S.
Urologists told The Washington Post that there was an uptick in requests for the procedure after the Court handed down its decision.
Dan Stein, a Florida urologist nicknamed the “Vasectomy King”, said that before the ruling he would normally receive four or five requests per day. Since the Dobbs decision, that number has increased to 12 to 18 requests per day.
“It was very, very noticeable Friday, and then the number that came in over the weekend was huge and the number that is still coming in far exceeds what we have experienced in the past,” Stein said. “Many of the guys are saying that they have been thinking about a vasectomy for a while, and the Roe v. Wade decision was just that final factor that tipped them over the edge and made them submit the online registration.”
Urologists in California, Iowa, and New York also told The Post they’ve seen a massive increase in vasectomy consultations, with as many as 60 to 70 percent of new patients citing the Supreme Court ruling as the reason they want to undergo the procedure.
