A gynecologist sparked outrage after she refused to sterilize a 22-year-old woman who wanted to get her tubes tied.
The student from Massachusetts wanted to undergo tubal litigation, a surgical procedure for female sterilization, as she didn’t want to have kids.
But because of her age, the gynecologist denied her request and suggested she try an IUD instead as she “might meet Mr. Right and change her mind.”
Tubal litigation involves the fallopian tubes being tied, cut, banded, clamped or sealed off to prevent pregnancy.
The woman took to TikTok and shared how she was frustrated by her gynecologist’s refusal to sterilize her.
In a video, which immediately went viral, the woman said: “Hi, Mrs. Gynecologist! My name is Olivia. I never want children. I’ve had this made up in my mind since I was old enough to think of the concept. Can I please have my tubes tied?”
“No,” she replied as her doctor, “It’s permanent.”
“Yes, I know,” Olivia responded. “That’s why I asked. I’d like that option.”
But her gynecologist said: “Well, no. You might meet Mr. Right and change your mind.”
Olivia insisted that she doesn’t want to have kids. “It’s not my plan. It’s not in my five-year plan, it’s not in my ten-year plan, my fifty-year plan. I don’t want that,” she argued.
But she said her gynecologist offered: “Yeah, but you might change your mind, and it’s permanent, so here’s a brochure for an IUD.”
Olivia then showed the brochure to the camera. “It has the same efficacy rate,” her gynecologist said. “We put it in your universe and you bleed and cramp for three months.”
“No, no. Thank you,” the student said.
Olivia’s TikTok video has been watched over 1.9 million times and has received thousands of comments.
“People need to understand NOT wanting kids!!!!!” one person wrote.
“How do you just leave after this?? I can’t imagine a doctor denying my request just because they said so???’ one person asked. ‘It hurts my brain, please keep pushing it!” another said.
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