#sterilization

Hello everyone- the following is a link to a Google doc containing hundreds of doctors in the US, Canada and Europe who are willing to perform female sterilization on individuals who are 21+ regardless of marriage or parental status.

This list has existed for years and is a collaborative effort from patients all over the world to assist people in controlling their own fertility.

This is the document that allowed me to get sterilized this year, as a woman in her 20’s with no partner or children- one 15 minute appointment, one two hour-long hospital visit, and one 15 minute post-op a few weeks later.

The document refers to tubal ligation, however they may offer other methods- for example, bilateral salpingectomy (aka “bisalp”) which is more effective and is becoming more popular with doctors than ligation.

If you know a doctor who performs female sterilization, and they are not on this list, please submit their name and location to the email provided at the top of the document.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14ZhfMB-NdUPnYZxCkytS_IESS9GIRr4jZgLJX4QRDkU/edit

PLEASE SHARE THIS WHEREVER YOU CAN.

Bilateral salpingectomy doesn't affect periods, but I also had an endometrial ablation around a decade ago and it got rid of my periods. It can be done at at the same time as bilateral salpingectomy. People have mixed experiences with this, so do your research and talk to a doctor about it, but it may get rid of your period or at least make them much lighter/more tolerable.

If you're interested in sterilization, I would recommend having it done sooner rather than later, as I imagine conservatives are going to go after the Affordable Care Act as soon as they can (I have read that it's funded through the end of this year, but take that with a grain of salt), and sterilization may become a target in and of itself as well.

There's tons more detailed information at r/Sterilization, including a list of doctors who will sterilize people without children/younger people. I highly recommend reading up more there! Just wanted to give a PSA that sterilization is something you can do, it's currently free*, it's not too intense of a recovery process, and it's extremely effective. I'm elated I got it done and I want to empower other people to get it done if it'll give you peace of mind.

(I have weird complicated feelings on being on birth control, i don't know if it's from dysphoria or because i was really hoping to just like. Get sterilized because i don't want children anyway and I'm salty i didn't get that, or if it's somthing else)

But that response feels weird because from what I've seen, most of the conditions that cause extremely painful periods and heavy bleeding are things that get worse over time, and birth control is a bandaid fix?

I am on birth control now, but i keep forgetting to put the ring in (cause they need to be kept in the fridge) and i feel like i could reasonably switch to pills and i'd remember it better, it just still feels ick to me. And the transplants just sound uncomfortable.

I'm young enough that the doctors got uncomfortable about me asking about a sterilization surgery, and also am perisex as far as i know, in case that affects anything.

I'm realizing i don't think there's an actual question here, so i guess I'm just looking for your thoughts? I also feel like I'm fishing for a "yeah you should definitely keep trying to get that surgery", but i trust you to give it to me straight.

Thank you for running this blog!! (Also I'm not on anon on purpose, but I'm giving you a duck emoji anyway cause i like them 🦆)

Hello!

Well, as for birth control and heavy bleeding/painful periods, it does really depend on what's causing the heavy bleeding/etc.

Some people do just have heavy/painful periods without any identifiable underlying cause and birth control can be helpful for that but you're very correct that often doctors use it as a bandaid fix and don't look into what's causing it, which can be an issue in the longterm.

But sterilization isn't always a fix for all of those possible underlying issues either, to be clear. So I would definitely recommend, if you can, start with pressuring your doctors to actually run tests and see if they can figure out what's causing your issues.

At the end of the day though, what I'm hearing is that you have a lot of reasons you don't really want to be on birth control and more importantly, you want to be sterilized.

Its your body. If you want to be sterilized, for any reason, that's your business and your choice to make. If it makes doctors uncomfortable, they can go fuck themselves lol. It make take awhile to get access to it but if you have the ability/money/time/whatever, it sounds like this is something that would be really helpful for you!

If you're fishing, well, you've snagged my agreement! There's nothing wrong with trying to get sterilized, its your body, your choice, your business.

My only vague thoughts on drawbacks is that its not a guarantee to stop periods completely (people do experience periods without bleeding sometimes, including after sterilization) and, y'know, they might turn you down.

But it sounds like you want this for more than just getting rid of your periods (and you might wanna take that chance anyway!) and you're aware doctors suck sometimes.

So, you're pretty risk aware and this is what you want, so like, pursue your dream!

What is sterilization?

A procedure to prevent pregnancy. For people with fallopian tubes, it’s often referred to as getting your tubes tied. For people who produce sperm, it’s often referred to as a vasectomy.

What is forced sterilization?

One of these procedures being performed without or against the explicit consent of the person who’s getting the procedure.

Disabled people get told all the time that we shouldn’t reproduce or have kids. What many people don’t realize is that eugenic, ableist mindset is lawfully practiced in most states to this day.

Presently, there are 31 (out of 50) states that legalize forced sterilization. Those states are Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawai’i, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming.

There are only 2 (out of 50) states that have explicitly outlawed forced sterilization. Those states are Alaska and North Carolina.