I have heard that doctors refuse to perform this procedure on men who are young and/or have no children. That seems rather silly, if it is true. Is it?
Certainly The doctor that referred me would not have done so if he had not been convinced that I was entering into the decision sensibly, but that’s partly because mine was done on the NHS (if I’d gone private, they would only be interested in seeing the cheque clear funds).
Doctors who refuse may be doing so to save themselves the hassle of dealing with dumb lawsuits from people who later regret the decisions and decide that the doctor should have talked them out of it.
Yes, it’s true. A physician is not obliged to perform any sort of elective surgery on anyone. It’s up to the physician’s discretion to decide whether or not to do it. Of course, if they refuse to perform procedures based on the patient’s race, etc. there could be trouble. But if they think the patient is not choosing the surgery for good reasons, they’d be foolish to pick up the scalpel.
Why would it be otherwise?
I admit I was a little snide, Qadgop, when I said it seemed “silly” that doctors might be reluctant to perform this operation on some people. I did not mean to question anyone’s judgement.
I would just like to know whether a competent, but young adult would have a realistic chance of finding a physician who will perform a vasectomy on him.
Well, first consider that the doctor is not there to serve the patient’s wants (at least the good ones aren’t) but to serve the patient’s best interests, as far as the physician can determine. It may sound paternalistic, but in actual practice it shouldn’t be.
The physician has heard things like “I’m 18, and my girlfriend says she’ll have sex with me only if I have a vasectomy, so I want one NOW!” No ethical doc would perform a vasectomy for those reasons in that situation.
Contrast the case where a childless young man knows he has Huntingdon’s Chorea, a fatal genetic illness, which will kill him during middle-age and which each of his children will have a 50-50 chance of getting. The patient is knowledgeable and after contemplation for 6 months has decided he never wants to reproduce. The chances of getting a vasectomy here from a conscientious physician are quite high.
Now imagine all the scenarios in between.
In short, it’s really case by case, and depends also on the physician’s outlook. A devout catholic physician might choose to never do a vasectomy for any reason; one committed to Zero Population Growth might set the bar quite low.
And if one goes to Mexico, one can assuredly find a doc willing to do it, no questions asked. Frankly, one wouldn’t even have to leave the country to find such a doc, if one knows where to look and has cash.
Planned parenthood previously (and may still require) required anyone under 30 years of age and without children to attend counseling prior to performing the procedure. Private physicians have private policies.
Mr. Adoptamom was relatively young when his was performed. My OB recommended one of us get “fixed” because I had multiple miscarriages and tubal pregnancies, which were life threatening. Mr. Adoptamom opted for the procedure because it was outpatient and had relatively few side effects.
In our state, the doctor asked to meet with both of us before he would perform the surgery. He wanted to make sure I knew Mr. Adoptamom was having it done, he asked us the reasons behind it, and then asked a few other questions I didn’t recognize at the time, but later realized he was trying to see how solid our marriage was before performing the proceedure. I also had to sign off on it before he would do it.
I imagine he’s had relatively young men request one, then they divorced and their new honey wants children so they want it reversed. Perhaps that’s why he was so cautious.
When I went to get my vasectomy, my doctor told me of a patient that he had performed a vastectomy on. The guy came back and asked for a reversal (which is an iffy procedure and doesn’t always work), as the guy remarried and wanted a child again. The doctor did the reversal and the guy had a child. Same guy comes back to the doc and asks for another vasectomy. Doc agrees and does the second vasectomy. Guy then gets remarried and wants another reversal. The doc successfully does the second reversal, as the guy had another kid. Same guy comes back to the doc and wants a 3rd vasectomy. The doctor finally refused and said that he’s done doing vasectomies on him!
On a similar note: a co-worker of mine looked at the OR schedule where I worked and said, “Wow! This guy is schuduled for a BILATERAL vasectomy!” I just looked at him and said, “Yeah, wouldn’t do much good to get just one side done now, would it?”