PHOENIX — The largest abortion provider in Arizona is offering vasectomy services, a response to court decisions limiting women's access to an abortion.
"Anecdotally, there has been a huge rise in requests, for both information and for the procedures," Dr. Jill Gibson, Planned Parenthood of Arizona's medical director, said in an interview.
"There was real fear that birth-control methods ... might be taken away from us."
Patient's questions about vasectomies started last year, in the runup to the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a woman's constitutional right to an abortion.
According to Gibson, her patients realized they had more options: "Kind of having that light bulb go off and recognize, hey, my partner could get a vasectomy. It's super fast and easy."
Planned Parenthood has offered vasectomies in the past.
"We started doing it one Saturday a month," said Dr. David Grossklaus, an East Valley urologist for 23 years. "We were very busy."
Grossklaus oversaw a Planned Parenthood program that started in 2000 and ended around 2015.
"We were advertising in Phoenix New Times," he said. Funding cuts spelled the end of the program.
Grossklaus said he hadn't seen a surge in demand for vasectomies since the Supreme Court decision.
"We already have a high rate of vasectomies in the West," he said. "People are more willing to consider male birth control than in the East. It seems like it's more accepted."
Dr. John Lin, a urologist who's practiced in Gilbert for 17 years, said he was seeing more men who have never had children coming in for a vasectomy.
"Yesterday, I saw two or three ... That's something I have never seen," Lin said.
"Some of them are in their 20s. A lot of these guys have never wanted a child. Because of more difficult access to abortion, they are stepping up and taking responsibility."
Here's what you need to know about a vasectomy:
- It's done in a doctor's exam room, not a hospital.
- The procedure can take less than 15 minutes.
- You'll need to rest for two to three days afterward.
- It doesn't affect sexual function.
Gibson cautions that deciding to get a vasectomy shouldn't be taken lightly.
Reversing a vasectomy can be very difficult, very expensive, and isn't covered by insurance.
"The risk of regret is something that we always discuss in our counseling process," Gibson said.
"This really is a method that should only be exercised if a patient is absolutely, absolutely certain that they do not desire to have a pregnancy in the future."
Planned Parenthood is offering vasectomy services at its Southern Arizona affiliate in Tucson. The service could be available in Phoenix later this year. The procedure will be done by a urology contractor.
The cost is $750, lower than many private practices. The state Medicaid plan covers the procedure, as do most private insurers.
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