# Should doctors who perform sterilizations be forced to pay pregnancy, childbirth, and/or childcare? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 31, 2015, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225 "2015-10-31T02:16:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Futurist110](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@Futurist110](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futurist110)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/1 "2015-10-31T02:16:23Z")
Should doctors who perform failed sterilizations (as in, sterilizations which were initially successful but which ended up failing later on) be forced to pay all of the pregnancy, childbirth, and/or childcare costs which result from their failed sterilization(s)? Any thoughts on this? ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/2 "2015-10-31T05:47:31Z")
Why shouldn’t they? IIRC, there was the classic ‘wrongful birth’ action - a woman who thought she had had her ‘tubes tied’ became pregnant - it turned out the good doctor had very carefully and professionally tied off the ligaments supporting the uterus instead of the Fallopian tubes. Never did hear how that case turned out. I’d say he was responsible for extreme emotional trauma, not to mention the expenses of a life never intended or wanted. ---
**Author:** ![Futurist110](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@Futurist110](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futurist110)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/3 "2015-10-31T05:59:14Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Why shouldn’t they? Because their patients knew that their sterilizations **aren’t** 100% effective? > [@](#): > > IIRC, there was the classic ‘wrongful birth’ action - a woman who thought she had had her ‘tubes tied’ became pregnant - it turned out the good doctor had very carefully and professionally tied off the ligaments supporting the uterus instead of the Fallopian tubes. > > Never did hear how that case turned out. > > I’d say he was responsible for extreme emotional trauma, not to mention the expenses of a life never intended or wanted. That was clearly a case of a sterilization being performed incorrectly at the very beginning, though. In contrast, I am talking about a sterilization being performed correctly but failing later on (such as due to re-canalization). ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/4 "2015-10-31T06:04:10Z")
No, of course not. I can’t imagine any surgeon claiming 100% effectiveness. If you can show the pregnancy was as a direct result of incompetence or malpractice then certainly you’d have a legal claim in the same way as for any procedure. Shit happens, not everything is someone’s fault. ---
**Author:** ![Futurist110](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@Futurist110](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futurist110)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/5 "2015-10-31T06:17:07Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > No, of course not. I can’t imagine any surgeon claiming 100% effectiveness. > > If you can show the pregnancy was as a direct result of incompetence or malpractice then certainly you’d have a legal claim in the same way as for any procedure. > > Shit happens, not everything is someone’s fault. Really? A surgeon who performs surgical castration won’t claim 100% effectiveness? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/6 "2015-10-31T06:19:39Z")
> [@Futurist110](#): > > Really? A surgeon who performs surgical castration won’t claim 100% effectiveness? Sterilization is not done by castration. ---
**Author:** ![Futurist110](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@Futurist110](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futurist110)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/7 "2015-10-31T06:38:28Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Sterilization is not done by castration. Not usually, but I myself certainly intend to be an exception to this rule. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/8 "2015-10-31T07:15:04Z")
> [@Futurist110](#): > > That was clearly a case of a sterilization being performed incorrectly at the very beginning, though. In contrast, I am talking about a sterilization being performed correctly but failing later on (such as due to re-canalization). No. Due to biology being what it is, medicine is not 100% certain. A surgeon can do everything correctly and the results can still be not what is expected or desired. That is not the surgeon’s fault. You might as well sue your own vas deferens for superior regenerative capabilities. Only if the surgeon made a mistake or was incompetent should he/she be held liable. That would be malpractice. If there was no malpractice then no, the surgeon is not liable. ---
**Author:** ![Futurist110](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@Futurist110](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futurist110)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/9 "2015-10-31T07:32:44Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > No. > > Due to biology being what it is, medicine is not 100% certain. A surgeon can do everything correctly and the results can still be not what is expected or desired. That is not the surgeon’s fault. You might as well sue your own vas deferens for superior regenerative capabilities. > > Only if the surgeon made a mistake or was incompetent should he/she be held liable. That would be malpractice. If there was no malpractice then no, the surgeon is not liable. So how about a doctor removes the **entire** vas deferens? After all, if the entire vas deferens is removed, then it can never grow back, correct? ---
**Author:** ![Memnon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Memnon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Memnon)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/10 "2015-10-31T07:35:21Z")
Is this some kind of parody OP? ---
**Author:** ![Futurist110](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@Futurist110](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futurist110)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/11 "2015-10-31T07:36:56Z")
> [@Tithonus](#): > > Is this some kind of parody OP? No, I’m certainly **not** a “parody OP.” ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/12 "2015-10-31T10:41:51Z")
> [@Tithonus](#): > > Is this some kind of parody OP? It’s one of a series. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/13 "2015-10-31T11:54:49Z")
Sure, the doctor should be forced to pay. That is, the doctors insurance should pay. That is, the doctor should charge the patient enough to pay for the insurance to pay compensation and court costs. That is, the patients should be forced to pay for the pregnancy, childbirth, childcare, and court costs. Is this an improvment? Perhaps a social rather than a legal solution should be considered? ---
**Author:** ![Memnon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Memnon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Memnon)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/14 "2015-10-31T13:11:46Z")
> [@Futurist110](#): > > No, I’m certainly **not** a “parody OP.” ☹ That was unnecessarily tetchy of me. I was posting at the bad end of a very long day. My apologies. In all seriousness, I don’t think doctors who perform unsuccessful sterilizations should be forced to pay for a woman’s pregnancy and its consequences because all patients know in advance that there’s a small chance the procedure won’t work. When it comes to sterilization, success is not a 100% guarantee and patients shouldn’t assume otherwise. Therefore if, against all odds, a woman becomes pregnant after such an operation it isn’t the doctor’s responsibility. It just means that the woman in question has been unlucky, which isn’t the doctor’s fault. The only exception I would _consider_ making to this would be if there was clear evidence that the doctor had botched the operation due to gross negligence or incompetence. Even then, you’d have to work pretty hard to convince me that the doctor should pay child support. He’d certainly deserve to get sued, but ultimately the decision to actually have the child belongs to his patient, and she can always choose to get an abortion if she really doesn’t want the kid. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/15 "2015-10-31T15:24:08Z")
There’s no such thing as a risk free medical procedure, and there are mechanisms in place to address substandard care. There’s no reason for this to be handled differently that I’m aware of. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/16 "2015-10-31T15:46:21Z")
They could lose in a malpractice suit - if proven - where the compensation from said suit could go to the expenses (and usually does) - but no, they won’t be on the hook for “childbirth, childcare and expenses”. When will you get it thru your head that its the parents that are responsible for that? You father a child - no matter what precautions you take - you fathered the child - the surgeon did not do that. ---
**Author:** ![Futurist110](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@Futurist110](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futurist110)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/17 "2015-10-31T21:12:34Z")
> [@Tithonus](#): > > He’d certainly deserve to get sued, but ultimately the decision to actually have the child belongs to his patient, and she can always choose to get an abortion if she really doesn’t want the kid. Yes, a female-bodied person can unilaterally get an abortion. However, a male-bodied person certainly cannot unilaterally get an abortion. ---
**Author:** ![Futurist110](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@Futurist110](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futurist110)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/18 "2015-10-31T21:13:34Z")
> [@simster](#): > > They could lose in a malpractice suit - if proven - where the compensation from said suit could go to the expenses (and usually does) - but no, they won’t be on the hook for “childbirth, childcare and expenses”. > > When will you get it thru your head that its the parents that are responsible for that? > > You father a child - no matter what precautions you take - you fathered the child - the surgeon did not do that. So you believe that male victims of rape and reproductive fraud should likewise be forced to pay child support? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/19 "2015-10-31T21:22:22Z")
> [@Futurist110](#): > > So you believe that male victims of rape and reproductive fraud should likewise be forced to pay child support? Different discussion altogether - especially when it comes to victims of rape (usually statutory as well). Are you going to continue asking the same quetions over and over and over again and do you actually expect to get a different answer? The things you keep trying to use as your “get out of support” card are extreme exceptions to the rule. You’re not going to win any arguments with them. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225/20 "2015-10-31T21:23:25Z")
> [@Futurist110](#): > > Yes, a female-bodied person can unilaterally get an abortion. However, a male-bodied person certainly cannot unilaterally get an abortion. non-sequitor - the male is not carrying the fetus - if he were, he would be able to and then the risks would be more equal - and the woman would be arguing your side of the question. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-doctors-who-perform-sterilizations-be-forced-to-pay-pregnancy-childbirth-and-or-childcare/736225.md?page=2)