KFF Health NewsJun 27 2024 Ferst, 28, said she has always known she doesn't want kids. She also worries about getting pregnant as the result of a sexual assault then being unable to access abortion services. "That's not a crazy concept anymore," she said.
After Roe was overturned in June 2022, doctors said a wave of young people like Ferst started asking for permanent birth control like tubal ligations, in which the fallopian tubes are removed, or vasectomies. Tubal ligations among young people had been slowly rising for years, but the ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization had a discernible impact. "We saw a pretty substantial increase in both tubal ligation and vasectomy procedures in response to Dobbs," Ellison said.
She said the biggest change is among young patients who don't have children seeking sterilization. She said that's a big shift from when she started practicing 30 years ago. King said some young patients who ask about sterilization never go through with the procedure. She recalled one of her own recent patients who decided against a tubal ligation after King talked with them about an IUD.