Greater numbers of younger people got permanent contraception after Dobbs decision, study finds
CNN
When federal abortion protections went away, significantly more younger adults got permanent contraception procedures, a study found. Here’s what the trend reveals.
In the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, more young adults in the United States took pregnancy off the table entirely, new research has shown. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned the 1973 high court decision that gave abortion federal protection. Since then, many states have partially or completely limited access to abortion. In a study that included 113 million people in all four US Census regions, researchers found that since the reversal, both vasectomies and tubal ligations — sometimes called having your tubes tied — increased significantly in people ages 18 to 30. Tubal ligation procedures increased twice as much as vasectomies, according to the study published Friday in JAMA Health Forum. “Findings from this research highlight the indirect effects of Dobbs on the reproductive autonomy of young people,” said lead study author Dr. Jackie Ellison, assistant professor of health policy and management at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. The “findings also demonstrate how abortion restrictions disproportionately impact women and people who can get pregnant,” she said in an email.