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“It scares me to think that someone has to make such an important decision in such a short period of time.”
Safety expert Jonathan Harrison pointed to Florida’s ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
This law, which came into effect last May, coupled with previous tragic experiences, forced him to 33-year-old had a vasectomy.
It all started in May 2022, when the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court overturned a ruling calledRoe v. Wade”, guaranteeing abortion rights in the country since 1973.
This eliminates constitutional protections for termination of pregnancy and allows Each state has its own legislation within this range.
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“The desire to control the uterus is often the most deadly”
Since then, several Republican-run states have implemented stricter measures, most recently Florida, governed by ultra-conservative Ron DeSantis.
Under the new law, Abortion is illegal after six weeks Pregnancy, except in cases of risk to the mother’s life, rape, incest or human trafficking.
This has affected tens of thousands of people in some way, e.g. Jonathan and his fiancée Baileya resident of Palm Beach, about 100 kilometers north of Miami.
From there they shared their story with BBC Mundo.
The pregnancy ended badly
Jonathan and Bailey began dating in February 2022 and they have no plans to have children.
At the end of that year, just as he was about to propose, they discovered she was pregnant.
“I don’t know how this could have happened. I am taking birth control pills I did everything you’re supposed to do,” the 25-year-old said.
The couple then debated how to proceed and even considered whether they could continue with the pregnancy, but complications soon arose.
Bailey’s gynecologist told her she had a miscarriage, “but it turned out to be a mistake and she actually This did not happen, and we found out a month later“She remembers.”
Because she believed she was no longer pregnant, the young woman took a drug that month whose contraindications included possible malformations of the fetus.
The uncertainty and stress, as well as the constant, unusual pain, led Bailey to Discontinue after 12 weeks Pregnancy.
“Because the disease was so severe, birth control pills were not possible, so I had to have surgery to remove it,” he explained.
Sterilization decision
When Bailey had the abortion, Florida allowed abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy.
That changes on May 1, 2024, when a new six-week law comes into effect.
Many doctors consider such a short time to be unreasonable.
“Six weeks is too early. Many women don’t even know they’re pregnant.“,” Dr Chelsea Daniels from Planned Parenthood Miami, who helped the couple, told BBC Mundo.
Jonathan and Bailey were determined not to go through the trauma of an unwanted pregnancy again and knew that, with the new law in place, repeating the experience would lead to more complications and suffering.
They didn’t trust traditional birth control methods because the pill had become ineffective (it’s between 90 and 99 percent effective, depending on usage), and despite his youth, he began to consider sterilization as a possible solution.
“After going through my first pregnancy, my first abortion, and dealing with the emotions and pain of it, this seemed like one of the most viable options,” she recalls.
He added: “When I heard about the six-week abortion ban in Florida, I finally decided to get a vasectomy. as soon as possible”.
Jonathan has some samples stored at a sperm bank in case he decides to have children in the future, and In June, he underwent surgery It was quick and painless, he explained.
Now, he said, he feels “definitely more relaxed and assured about the future.”
Vasectomy
Dr. Chelsea Daniels performed the procedure in just 20 minutes under local anesthesia
Vasectomy is over 99% effective and is usually reversible, but not in all cases, so patients are advised to consider it a permanent decision.
Daniels Guarantee Sterilization demand grows She has been working at her clinic since Florida’s latest abortion restrictions took effect.
“Many patients tell me they thought about getting a vasectomy for a long time. After the overturning of Roe v. Wade a few years ago, and Florida’s six-week abortion ban, they are more motivated to consider it as a real option.”
In fact, doctors across the country have pointed to an increase in the demand for sterilization as a general trend since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Russ Vasectomies tripled among men aged 18 to 30 From June 2022 to September 2023, compared with the same period of the previous year, Tubal ligation rates have doubled among women of the same ageThree researchers from the University of Pittsburgh conducted a study based on medical databases from across the country.
Experts attribute the data to growing concerns among many Americans about current and future restrictions on abortion and access to early pregnancy termination medications such as mifepristone and misoprostol.
In the 50 states of the United States, 41 Implementation of prohibitions or restrictions Abortionaccording to the Guttmacher Institute, a private reproductive rights advocacy group.
Abort in another state
In Florida, the six-week law forces many women with unwanted pregnancies to travel to other states for abortions.
“If they are more than six weeks pregnant, legally we cannot provide them with an abortion. We redirect them to other states” said the Planned Parenthood doctor.
The organization is responsible for advising these women and facilitating their journey as much as possible and staying in places where abortions can be safely performed.
He explained that the closest state patients travel to is North Carolina, where terminations up to 12 weeks of pregnancy are legal, though patients are also sent to Virginia, Maryland and other states.
The biggest problem is that as Many people take longer than six weeks to realize they are pregnantSince the ban, the number of women requiring the service has skyrocketed.
“In 2023, 84,000 abortions performed in Florida Dr Daniels warned that no single state could absorb that volume.
He explained that Planned Parenthood also didn’t have the staff or resources to handle the influx of abortion requests after a month and a half of pregnancy.
BBC Mundo emailed a request for an interview with a Florida government representative but did not receive a response.
Florida residents will get an extra vote in the Nov. 5 presidential election An amendment to reverse the six-week ban and protect abortion rights by law.
The doctor said that if the amendment wins, it will help “keep the government out of hospitals and respect private medical decisions between doctors and patients.” (Yo)
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