A false sense of knowledge and power, why aren't you standing your ground with men? Quit giving him all the power; doesn't he control enough in your life, our society, and even through the generations?

I’m tired of seeing articles online fighting for women to have access and rights to abortions. It’s really not that hard to prevent pregnancy in the first place, therefore fighting for abortions isn’t really necessary considering approximately 95% of abortions are unintended pregnancies & approximately 95.9% of them are for elective & unspecified reasons compared to 0.4% due to rape & incest or 0.3% because of a risk to the woman's life or a major bodily function.
 
Since prevention really is the best remedy, here are many reasons why a woman may NOT want an abortion; most experience some of the following after an abortion:

• Bleeding – on average, bleeding lasts 14 days but can last as long as 21 days. 
• Cramping
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Nausea/Vomiting

These symptoms typically resolve within a week, sometimes longer.
 
Possible Complications from an abortion include:

• Damage to the womb or cervix
• Excessive bleeding
• Incomplete abortion, requiring an additional surgical abortion procedure
• Infection of the uterus or fallopian tubes
• Scarring of the inside of the uterus
• Sepsis or Septic shock
• Uterine perforation

 
Death is another potential complication. In 2020, the last year for which the CDC has information, six women in the U.S. died due to complications from induced abortions. Four women died in this way in 2019, two in 2018, and three in 2017. (These deaths all followed legal abortions). Since 1990, the annual number of deaths among women due to legal induced abortion has ranged from two to 12.
 
Other potential abortion complications include:

• Future Pre-term Deliveries for future pregnancies
• Dramatic increased risk for breast cancer (A 2013 analysis revealed a 44% increased risk of breast cancer among females who had at least one induced abortion. The relative risk increased to 76% and 89% for those who had at least two or three abortions).

 
Aside from the potential mental side effects from receiving an abortion (regret, guilt, shame, depression, desire for suicide), some women experience sexual dysfunction: increased vaginal dryness, decreased sexual desire, loss of orgasm ability, & painful intercourse.
 
And hormone birth control should NOT even be an option. Through my thorough and varied sources research, I have 12 pages in Word of the various negative side effects to a woman’s health and body in size 12 font Times New Roman. For example, the relative risk for developing breast cancer for a woman using birth control is 20 percent higher than that of a nonuser. And doctors don’t recommend the birth control pill for women over age 35. These are just a couple of stats I found on my own outside of a former medical doctor that informed me at a visit in my late 20s (I'm 41 present day) to stay away from hormone birth control because it causes breast cancer after she knew my mom had breast cancer and since then an even higher risk in my family when my mom’s sister was diagnosed with breast cancer as well. (And it goes to show you that a regular medical doctor who isn’t a Naturopathic doctor which would be more likely to recommend drug free birth control is advising me to stay away from hormone birth control shows that it’s not a good option considering medical doctors are generally more likely to recommend drugs).
 
So instead of fighting for women to have abortions, since it can be considered a false sense of knowledge (I provided the stats on it) and power, here’s another option women may have NOT thought of/seriously pursued for their partner/husband, a vasectomy. Especially for women who have a strong risk of breast cancer in their family (like myself) or have had breast cancer or have it now.
 
Why vasectomies are our best option:

1. It’s over 99% effective.
2. A vasectomy is faster, equally effective (and according to Google AI they say a vasectomy is slightly more effective than tubal ligation), and one-fourth the cost of tubal ligation. (Tubal ligation is a woman getting sterilized also known as “fixed”).
3. It’s non-hormonal long-term birth control (can be reversed higher success rates of reversal is within 10 years of getting the vasectomy) or permanent birth control if not reversed.
4. It can be performed without a scalpel and is considered a “procedure” done in under a half hour versus “major surgery”.
5.  It should not affect sex. It doesn’t affect sexual function. It’s simply a way to prevent sperm from coming out in the ejaculate. The vasectomy should not cause any erection problems (ejaculations and orgasms should feel the same).

 
And according to a June 2025 article, in the U.S., about 500,000 vasectomies are performed each year.
 
A vasectomy will NOT affect a man's: urination, physical sensation, increase his risk of prostate or testicular cancer, change his testosterone level, or prevent sexually transmitted infections.
 
In a July 2024 article from GoodRx, in the U.S., a vasectomy averages up to $1,000 without insurance. (About the same price or a tad more than an abortion that would be done one time & is much safer & more cost effective).
 
Some health insurance plans will cover a vasectomy. Vasectomies are not considered essential health benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). That means private insurance plans do NOT have to cover them. However, according to a Guttmacher Institute policy tracker, nine states require health insurance plans to cover them & they are:

• Washington
• Illinois
• Maryland
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• Oregon
• Vermont
• California

 
If your insurance plan covers the procedure, you still may be responsible for out-of-pocket costs such as your deductible and copays or coinsurance.
 
Remember relationships are supposed to be about compromise. Just like there’s paternity leave out there now, let’s give men the opportunity to pull their weight with reproductive health as well. You must be on the same page regarding wanting to birth a child or not (you can't have half a child). You also must make a definitive decision about it (choosing to proceed with a vasectomy shows you're closing the door indefinitely to procreating your own child/children), supporting & being committed to your partner for the long-term if NOT for life, being responsible with your reproductive health, and the man having a vasectomy may be a requirement for a relationship with some women. Just think if more women stood their ground on this, they wouldn't suffer from as long as a mini-series of negative side effects from hormone birth control (recall the 12 pages in Word of the various negative side effects to a woman’s health and body that I researched), they would GREATLY reduce their chances of an unintended OR untimed pregnancy, GREATLY reduce the possibility of an abortion, & GREATLY reduce these awful stats of approximately 95% of abortions being unintended pregnancies & approximately 95.9% of them are for elective & unspecified reasons (which don’t include rape or incest, because of a risk to the woman's life or a major bodily function).
 
With roughly 29% of American adults who don't have any children say they don't want any (according to a study from Michigan State University, a significant increase by 14% in 2002), it shouldn't be that hard to convince your partner [if you're in that 29%] aside from sharing my article with him and if he's still not convinced there is a list of 36 gender inequalities (which isn’t even an exhaustive list of all) you could share with him at this link: https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/news/a15652/gender-inequality-stats/
 
So, here’s a couple of things to think about: 1) For those of you waiting until marriage to have sex with your partner, and are sure you don't want to procreate, ensure the vasectomy happens before the marriage, too. (I mean imagine not being on the same page with that and already being married). 2) Regardless if you’re pro marriage or pro waiting for sex until marriage, nothing says commitment like a vasectomy.

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BY: CARLY CALABRESE, a highly motivated entrepreneur & professional writer in Puyallup, WA. She is open for freelance and *remote only U.S. based* writing/editing projects/positions for individuals, businesses, etc. (if you are an editor OR know of an editor that hires for this), please email her at: [email protected] Thank you! 🙏

Additionally, Carly's the founder & manager of a Covid awareness & support blog visit: corona-virus-awarenessandsupport.blogspot.com to learn more.