WOMAN 22, SPARKS DEBATE ABOUT MEDICAL FREEDOM AFTER DOCTOR REFUSED TO STERILISE HER
When a 22-year-old lady said that her gynecologist declined to consider her for a tubal ligation – a medical sterilization widely known as “having your tubes tied” – after she stated that she doesn’t want children, she stirred a controversy on TikTok. Women are now speaking out about the sexist double standards they suffer as a result of their decision to be childless, thanks to the viral video. Olivia, a TikTok user, reenacted a conversation she claimed she had with her gynecologist in a video that has already been viewed over 1.7 million times.
“Good morning, Mrs Gynecologist!” says the narrator. My name is Olivia. I’m not interested in having children. I’ve had this thought in my head since I was old enough to comprehend it. She asked, “Could my tubes possibly be tied?” Regardless of who she chooses as a spouse, Olivia assured the gynecologist that she still does not want children. “No. It isn’t my intention. It’s not in my five-year plan, my ten-year plan, or my fifty-year plan. “I don’t want that,” she stated emphatically. “Yeah, but you might change your mind, and it’s permanent,” the gynecologist replied, handing over a pamphlet for an IUD.
Olivia then pulled up a leaflet regarding hormonal contraception using IUDs, which she claimed was given to her by her real physician. “The efficacy rate is the same.” They explained, “We place it in your uterus, and you bleed and cramp for three months.”Olivia and her doctor’s video reenactment is an all-too-common occurrence for many women, especially those who claim they don’t want children.
In recent years, “voluntary childlessness,” often known as “living a childfree life,” has increased in favor among US adults. According to a Pew Research Center poll released in November, 44% of individuals believe it is “not very or not at all likely” that they will have children in the future, up 7% from 2018.
While there is no single explanation why some Americans have lost interest in having children, some poll respondents cited financial constraints or the unsettling “state of the world” as reasons for not having children.
Many individuals criticized the sexist assumption that if a woman meets “Mr. Right,” she will alter her mind about having children, while others pointed out that having children is just as permanent as being sterilised.
“Mr Right is a man who doesn’t want children,” one woman explained. “How difficult is that to comprehend?”
Another person wrote, “Kids are permanent too, like…?”
“I’ve always despised the ‘what if you meet a man’ argument because, yes, let’s make life decisions on the off chance a man comes into the picture,” one person wrote, to which Olivia replied, “Whoever I end up with, I’m going to make sure they ALSO want to be child free.” Olivia explained in a series of follow-up videos that she merely went to the gynecologist as a precaution, but that she will not be receiving an IUD or any other hormonal birth control.
“I just went in for a checkup and asked because, like, I just don’t want kids!” she explained in a subsequent video. “On a more serious topic, I suppose we’ll just cross that bridge when we come to it.” I guess he’ll have to get a vasectomy regardless of which boo I wind up with. Because they’re reversible, it appears that you can get one with the snap of a finger.”
