With reproductive rights under attack across the country, men have taken ‘one for the team’ by undergoing a vasectomy with many even taking it one step further and filming themselves during the procedure.
As the country grapples with the post-Roe world, doctors have seen an increase in men choosing to get snipped.
The bizarre TikTok trend takes followers along for the procedure as men film themselves during their vasectomy.
The trend comes in the wake of the June 24 Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that protected abortion rights at the federal level.
Mike Pridgen, 28, from New Jersey, is one of the many men who have filmed themselves getting vasectomies as apart of a TikTok trend following the reversal of Roe v. Wade
Keith Laue, 23, from Texas, got a vasectomy after his home state passed one of the most restrictive abortion bans, banning abortions as early as six weeks of pregnancy
Giustina Torres filmed her husband getting a vasectomy for the second time after she got pregnant with their fourth child two years after her husband Jay first had the procedure
Keith Laue, 23, from Texas, knew he needed to get a vasectomy after his home state passed one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the nation at the time, banning abortions as early as six weeks of pregnancy.
Keith, and his partner Taylor Ribar, 24, already had one child and were firmly set on the decision to not have another.
However, after SCOTUS stripped away reproductive rights, the couple felt disempowered.
Keith ultimately decided to get a vasectomy because it was the most cost effective solution and allowed his partner, who experienced negative side effects of birth control, to get off the pill.
The 23-year-old shared his experience with his over 245,000 followers.
‘I got a vasectomy a few weeks ago and I wanted to walk y’all through the process just in case you were considering getting one yourself,’ he said in his viral video.
Keith described how he first had a phone consultation and set the appointment.
When the day of his vasectomy came, Keith was prescribed Valium for anxiety and had local anesthesia administered.
He described how he was awake for the procedure, but that it only lasted 15 minutes.
Although Keith mentioned he took two or three days to rest and also treated his pain with Ibuprofen, he said he returned to life as normal after those few days.
‘Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, I’m way more confident in this decision than ever. As men it’s time that we start to support women and support our weight of birth control,’ he said of his decision.
Another man to document his experience was Mike Pridgen, 28, from New Jersey, filmed his surgery along with many follow up videos educating his followers on the procedure.
Mike gave his followers a ‘front row seat’ to his snipping procedure.
The video, which garnered 2.8 million views, shows the 28-year-old comedian at the doctor’s office receiving the ‘little pinch.’
‘I just got a vasectomy, I’m in no pain right now,’ Mike said in his video. ‘That’s not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.’
Giustina showed Jay before, after and during the procedure to show he was just fine and to show how simple the procedure was
Another user who goes by @thealmazonfamily on TikTok showed her husband before and after the procedure and added he ‘took one for the team’
About half of American states are ultimately expected to restrict or ban abortions following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide
In many follow up videos, Mike explained the reason he chose to undergo the procedure.
‘It’s d*** near impossible to raise a child, financially, in this country at this point. It’s also not particularly safe.
‘Every day, you turn on the news, it feels as though this country is burning. So why would I want to bring a child into this?’
Other users have filmed their husbands or partners getting vasectomies.
Giustina Torres filmed her husband getting a vasectomy for the second time after she got pregnant with their fourth child two years after her husband Jay first had the procedure.
Giustina showed Jay before, after and during the procedure to show he was just fine.
Another user who goes by @thealmazonfamily on TikTok showed her husband before and after the procedure and added he ‘took one for the team’ so she ‘doesn’t have to get on birth control.’
The trend has taken over TikTok, with over 500 million videos being made with the hashtag #vasectomy, and videos with the hashtag #snipsniphooray being viewed over 20 million times.
A spokesperson for Tinder told the New York Times even dating apps have seen the increase of vasectomies as the mention of the procedure on the dating app have surged.
According to preliminary data collected by Innerbody Research, a telehealth and health research company, there was an increase of over 850 per cent for the search term ‘where can I get a vasectomy.’
And urologists have seen a dramatic increase in the demand for the procedure since SCOTUS reversed Roe v. Wade.
Dr. Charles Monteith, medical director of a clinic in North Carolina, told Vice News: ‘I’m normally scheduled out for two to four weeks. Now, I’m scheduled out for three months.
‘We have seen a dramatic increase in inquiries and contacts through our website and calls.’
Tim McAuliff, a Texas-based vasectomist, said: ‘We’ve had some people call and say because of Roe v. Wade they want to be more proactive or preventative.’
And with many men sharing their experience getting ‘snipped,’ more men and women have noticed the vast difference in the accessibility of healthcare to men versus women.
Mike shared the many reasons he got a vasectomy in multiple follow up videos, which prompted many women to point out they received no medication during IUD insertion
One user who goes by @thealmazonfamily on TikTok shared that her husband got a vasectomy so that she didn’t have to go on birth control
Many users even showed an inside look into the doctor’s office; they also showed the many different tools used during the procedure
When seeking a vasectomy, men can simply pick up on the phone, sign a few consent forms and be on their way to getting snipped.
However, if a woman wants to get her tubes tied, the process is much different.
According to the National Library of Medicine, when women are attempting to get their tubes tied, they are often required to undergo a psychological evaluation and have their partner sign a consent form.
In 2019, a woman named Erin Thompson, from North Carolina, tried to undergo the procedure after having a child with her partner at the age of 20 and told Vice: ‘They told me I would need to see a psychologist to get cleared, and I had to write a two-page paper defending my need for this surgery.
‘I spent two years trying to get them to give me one while I tried one terrible birth control [method] after another.’
Her husband ultimately decided to get a vasectomy, which was completed just one week later.
And while some states have removed the requirements for tubal ligation, many states still enforce them – including Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina.
Furthermore, vasectomies are for the most part usually completely covered by insurance, while a tubal ligation is only covered dependent on which state you live in.
In addition to the pre-procedure requirements and costs, many users were shocked to learn men were prescribed medication and put under local anesthesia for the short procedure.
On social media the procedure was compared to an IUD insertion, which is a form of birth control that a doctor places inside the uterus.
IUD insertion is said to be extremely painful – even more so than a vasectomy – and yet, little to no women have ever received any type of pain medication or local anesthetic prescribed.
Many women flooded the comments section thanking the men for both educating others, while also pointing out the drastic differences in men’s’ and women’s’ healthcare.
Many women flooded the comments section thanking the men for both educating others, while also pointing out the drastic differences in men’s’ and women’s’ healthcare
‘I truly appreciate you being somewhat of a beacon of education on this because I never see it and it is a great option for men,’ said one user.
Another user added: ‘Yep. and you get pain meds. They literally stab my cervix and pass a rod through it to implant an IUD and I get nothing.’
‘This is what a man looks like. Thank you,’ commented another user.
One user wrote: ”’I filmed the entire thing,” two seconds.’
‘This is such a simple procedure and they numb you. Women’s procedures are much more invasive and they usually don’t get numbed,’ commented one user.
Another user commented: ‘Yet people with uteruses get zero pain management at all during an IUD procedure and are lied to about the process.’