A video of a woman filming her husband after he had a vasectomy for her because of their concerns of living in a red state has gone viral.
With the recent overturning of Roe v Wade, the 1973 landmark ruling that previously established a constitutional right to privacy and reproductive freedom, the US Supreme Court left it up to individual states to determine the legality of access to reproductive healthcare.
The text overlay in the video posted by TikToker Karah Matanic, read:
“When he gets a vasectomy for you because you reside in a red state."
According to the New York Times, abortion is now banned in at least 10 states, with many others expected to follow.
After SCOTUS' controversial decision, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested in his concurring opinion the high court “should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents."
One of the cases relating to the personal right to privacy he mentioned was Griswold v Connecticut–the 1965 landmark decision that protected the liberty of married couples to purchase and utilize contraceptives without government restriction.
Should the high court repeal Griswold as proposed by Thomas, it could lead to an outright ban on contraception in some states.
In anticipation of what could happen as it did with Roe after Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's initial majority opinion draft leak prompted many states to enact trigger laws, many Americans are once again finding themselves bracing themselves for the worst.
Some concerned citizens have resorted to taking drastic measures–like stocking up on the Morning After Pill or getting a vasectomy–to prevent pregnancy.
Take Karah Matanic–a.k.a. TikToker @karahmatanic–for instance.
She posted a video of her husband leaving the clinic after he had a vasectomy and the clip reached 3.8 million views as of this writing.
The low-risk procedure is an effective form of male birth control by which the tubes called the vas deferens carrying the sperm to semen are cut off and sealed. Three months after a vasectomy, the semen will not contain sperm, so it won't cause pregnancy.
People gave the husband props for taking one for the team.
@karahmatanic/TikTok
@karahmatanic/TikTok
@karahmatanic/TikTok
@karahmatanic/TikTok
@karahmatanic/TikTok
@karahmatanic/TikTok
@karahmatanic/TikTok
@karahmatanic/TikTok
He's not alone in his endeavor for the cause.
According to Bloomberg author Sri Taylor, there has reportedly been an uptick in calls for appointments for the sterilization procedure to avoid unwanted pregnancies.
"In Ohio, where abortions are now prohibited after six weeks into pregnancy, the Cleveland Clinic went from lining up three or four vasectomies a day to 90," wrote Taylor.
They added:
"Des Moines, Iowa, urologist Esgar Guarín said he typically performs 40 to 50 vasectomies a month; last weekend alone 20 men registered. Koushik Shaw of the Austin Urology Institute in Texas said his office received about 70 calls within the hour of the ruling."
Some TikTokers suggested the procedure was a wise decision for couples whose families are complete, regardless of politics.
@karahmatanic/TikTok
@karahmatanic/TikTok
This notion may have been the impetus for Matanic and her husband in making their ulitimate decision.
In a follow-up clip, Matanic showed one of their three babies, indicating they were done with expanding members of their household.
The clip was in response to a commenter who said of her husband, "He looks too young for that.. damn rip."
She responded with sarcasm:
“Thank you for bringing the same energy that they bring into the doctor’s office when I wanted to get my tubes tied."