There are women out there who don’t want children.
If the previous sentence causes you to roll your eyes or shake your head condescendingly, this article might not be for you. I get it — you think some people are too young to make this sort of life-changing decision. Which would be great, except:
We already do that!
So, I’m 24. I know that children aren’t in my future, but I can’t find a doctor in my state to sterilize me. Which makes sense. I mean, I still have over a decade before menopause, and everyone knows your “biological clock” starts ticking when you get older. I’m simply too young to have the right perspective on what I’ll want, right?
Except kids six years younger than me are registering for the draft, picking their majors, and taking out thousands of dollars of loans, all of which have long-term effects on the rest of their lives. We already bar off several pathways from the moment we turn eighteen. Why should this be any different?
Well, what if you change your mind?
No one should be so egotistical that they don’t think they could ever change their minds (look at some old school photos), but there are some things that we can all be pretty confident about. The world is our oyster, sure, yet there are some paths that we know we won’t stroll down. Some of us know that we won’t be doctors or that we won’t live in San Francisco. And that’s okay. When one door closes, another one opens and all that jazz.
Why don’t you just use some other form of birth control, just in case?
One, because they fail. Not all the time, but different forms of birth control all have varying degrees of success. And if you’re committed to not having kids, 95 percent efficient just doesn’t cut it. Not to mention, picking out a birth control method is so unbelievably complicated, because it’s not just effectiveness you’ve got to consider: hormones or not, ease of use, and what your insurance will cover are just as much part of it. ut every birth control method has some sort of risk. Some increase your risk for breast cancer or thin your bones. Others just cause mood swings and spotty. So it’s easier to just reject the whole thing and cut off the option altogether.
Surgery is dangerous!
Yep. While less than 1 out of 1,000 women who have a tubal ligation (medical speak for “tubes tied”) have complications, it is still important to think about. Essure, a form of permanent non-surgical birth control was briefly touted as a success, but lately, there’s been more than couple issues with it. Kind of a big bummer, because it was an easy way to get permanent birth control AND sidestep this whole objection, but there you go. So if you want a precise method, you’ve got to get your tubes tied.
But if people can undergo surgery to help with their self-confidence and undergo plastic surgery, then women should definitely be able to do it to prevent kids from popping out.
So, let’s treat those women with at least the same respect we give to wealthy celebrities, and let them have the opportunity to choose how they want to forever alter their body. It’s only fair.
