After the 2022 Roe v. Wade reversal, a new study finds a notable rise in women choosing tubal ligation, particularly in states with abortion bans. The research, published Wednesday in JAMA, analyzed insurance data from 4.8 million women across 36 states and Washington, D.C.
Key Points:
- Tubal ligation rates increased in all states after Roe’s overturn, especially in abortion-banned states, with a 3% monthly rise.
- The study’s findings align with a broader trend of rising sterilization procedures among both men and women post-Roe.
- Doctors report that patients increasingly sought sterilization over concerns about access to abortion and contraceptive failures.
More Women Opt for Tubal Ligation After Roe v. Wade Overturn
A recent study shows that more women opted for sterilization procedures, specifically tubal ligation, following the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. This trend was most pronounced in states where abortion is now banned.
The study, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), analyzed insurance claims data from 4.8 million women across 36 states and Washington, D.C. The data focused on tubal ligations, a surgical procedure that blocks the fallopian tubes to prevent pregnancy. The research categorized states as “banned,” “limited,” or “protected,” based on their abortion laws.
Findings of the Study In the 18 months prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in June 2022, the number of tubal ligations remained steady across all states. However, after the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling, which overturned Roe, the number of tubal ligation procedures increased across all three groups of states. The most significant increase occurred in states with strict abortion bans, where sterilizations rose by 3% each month.
Xiao Xu, the lead author and an associate professor of reproductive sciences at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, said the rise in sterilization rates is “not entirely surprising” given the sweeping changes in abortion access.
Sterilization Surge Post-Dobbs The new data aligns with earlier research that also indicated a surge in sterilization procedures following the Roe reversal. An April study published in JAMA Health Forum found a sharp increase in tubal ligations among women aged 18-30, along with a rise in vasectomies among men in the same age group.
Jacqueline Ellison, one of the authors of the April study and a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public Health, praised the new findings for offering a state-by-state analysis, something her own research could not do.
Doctors’ Observations Dr. Clayton Alfonso, an OB-GYN at Duke University in North Carolina, noted a rise in tubal ligation requests at his practice, especially around the time of the Dobbs decision. Many patients voiced concerns over the possibility of an unplanned pregnancy due to contraceptive failures and wanted to ensure they wouldn’t face limited options for terminating a pregnancy.
Patients expressed a desire for sterilization as a precautionary measure in case abortion became inaccessible, Alfonso said, though he was not involved in either study. He added that the number of patients seeking sterilization in his practice has slightly decreased as people became more certain about local abortion laws.
Future Research North Carolina enacted a 12-week abortion ban in 2023, and Alfonso believes this may have contributed to a decline in requests for sterilization in his state. However, he emphasizes the need for more research on the long-term effects of the Roe reversal, especially as abortion laws continue to evolve nationwide.
Xu and her team are also interested in studying trends beyond 2022 as more data becomes available, allowing for a better understanding of how legal shifts impact women’s reproductive health decisions.
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