The young couple asked her obstetrician to do a tubal ligation when he does the Caesarean section they've planned for October.
"No, I won't do it," Dr. Kayode Ayodele told her unequivocally. "You're too young."
A tubal ligation was simply not even open for discussion. He told her that she might get involved with someone else down the road and regret her decision. He told her it's a permanent sterilization method and he's had so many patients wanting it reversed, that he won't even consider performing one now on any woman under 25....
Seymour's family doctor was not surprised by the obstetrician's refusal. He warned her that while he would keep looking, he doubted he would be able to find any ob/gyn willing to perform the procedure.
There are no age guidelines for tubal ligations, according to the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, but their Canadian Conception Consensus does note that 14 years later, 20% of women sterilized before age 30 expressed regret in a survey, compared to 6% of those who were over 30.
Because one-fifth of women under 30 surveyed "expressed regret" for having had a tubal ligation, the other FOUR-FIFTHs should have been denied?
IT'S OUR BODIES, you damn fools!
I was the same age as Seymour when I had my tubal ligation and never regretted it. I suppose I was fortunate that the first doctor I asked, after expressing concern about my age and possible future regret, didn't hesitate to honour my decision.
H/t feministfatale on Twitter, via Bust Magazine.
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