#sterilisation

The world will not transform into dystopian Handmaid's Tale type scenes overnight. But attitudes towards women are changing once more. The pendulum is swinging. Our rights, our autonomy, our self-determination. These have all come under question before and can and WILL again.

I’ve encountered this reasoning before, and while I can agree with much of it on a strictly ideological basis, it just doesn’t take into account the context of the problem.

The reason most vegans advocate for sterilisation is because breeding animals adds to the existing problem of overpopulated companion animals in shelters, failing to sterilise a pet would be enormously irresponsible, given how many animals a dog or cat can product per year while sexually active. Allowing pets to freely breed may have the appeal of ideological purity but it is also just completely unachievable if we want to keep companion animals, feral animals and invasive animals at reasonable numbers without culling them, which is surely far worse.

It's just not for everyone and certainly not an individual who's been looking into sterilisation methods since 19 years of age (now mid-30s)! The thing is I did look at fostering* and adoption, as well as egg storage and IVF, at various points in my life. There is virtually nothing on this earth that could motivate me to go through so much and I just regret not getting sterilised sooner at this point.

It's not entirely just about reproduction either; I currently have two large ovarian cysts caused by endometriosis (around 20cm in total, give or take). I was told that I was lucky not to have any obvious sign of cancer, as that's apparently unusual with such large growths. There is no guarantee that this won't happen again or that I would be so lucky in future.

Everyone should have the right to make the choices that suit them, regarding their reproductive health and home lives. With kids. With pets. With friends. Partnered**. Unpartnered**. Entirely solo.

*Fostering = This could just speak to my ignorance of better options for vulnerable children than foster care, if there are some but I wouldn't absolutely rule it out forever, if a kid desperately needed a safe space for a period of time and I was able to provide them with one. But it would hinge on the child wanting and accepting that offer, so I'd likely only take in older kids (8-16), if I did. I'm not likely to be in any such position though, so maybe this explanation is somewhat irrelevant.

The Dutch government has apologized to transgender people for previously mandating surgeries, including sterilization, as a prerequisite for legal gender recognition. During a Cabinet meeting this week, government officials also announced plans to compensate people who underwent the operations.

This outcome is good news following years of activism demanding the government acknowledge the harm the country’s sterilization law caused trans people in The Netherlands. In 2013, the Council of Europe called for an end to mandatory sterilization for trans people in member states. A 2014 revision to the Dutch law rolled back the sterilization requirement that had been in place since 1985. This provision had mandated that trans people desiring to change their gender on identification documents had to submit to surgery. The revision allowed for legal gender change through administrative processes.

In 2011, Human Rights Watch documented what it was like for trans people in the Netherlands to live under the mandatory sterilization law. “My wish is to live as a woman, and to be treated and accepted as a woman by others,” said one trans woman. “I am lucky with my body, for me it’s possible to live as a woman without surgery and without hormones. Why then should I subject myself to a surgeon’s scalpel?”

Accessible and transparent legal gender recognition procedures, based on an individual’s self-declaration, are increasingly common around the world. The Netherlands is now taking the next step of apologizing for and compensating those who endured medical harms.

During the cabinet’s formal apology, Ingrid van Engelshoven, the country’s Minister of Education, Culture and Science, said, “the law turned out to be a symbol of social rejection for many, and dreams have been lost as a result of the irreversible sterilization,” and law minister Sander Dekker said “[t]he old law could give transgender people a hard, almost impossible choice.”

Hello all, just a quick little message. I had some minor surgery done this week, I had my tubes tied (female sterilisation) so during the recovery I will do my best to get paid readings out in the 3 day time frame as listed but the free readings will have to wait for a bit.

I might also make a post eventually to explain the personal spiritual significance of having my tubes tied and the karmic cycles that are all wrapped up in it, it’s actually a whole story involving my current maternal bloodline that some of you might find interesting. On another note as well, spirituality aside, I know that I have never wanted to have children and if you can relate and this resonates with you, just wanted to say that you are not alone :)

Feel free to ask any questions about this in the comments or send an ask me if you want, I’d be happy to try and answer any questions. Love & Light and Holiday Blessings to you all 💛💜

If you'd like to donate to my channel/blog I gratefully receive energy donations via Paypal, every little helps! 🧡

For anyone that feels so inclined I do have an etsy shop for readings or if you prefer I now also have an email where you can send requests for readings or for anything you'd like to share etc: [email protected].