Earlier this month, Texas passed legislature that banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. If you have any knowledge of biology and pregnancy, the six week mark is usually earlier than most women know that they are pregnant. This abortion ban is not only sexist in putting the pressure of pregnancy entirely on the woman and excluding any action on the man’s behalf, but a violation of the rights a woman has to her own body.
If we’re violating bodily rights at the suggestion by some religion that not everyone is a part of, then I suggest that men should have mandatory vasectomies. If women are not allowed to terminate potentially life-threatening pregnancies or even pregnancies that they just don’t want or don’t feel equipped to handle, then men who can get someone pregnant should get vasectomies as soon as they’re able to reproduce.
Vasectomies are reversible, whereas pregnancy is not in the state of Texas. It is not fair that women should have to bear the brunt of a pregnancy if it takes both a man and a woman to cause one. If a woman is forced to endure nine months of pregnancy and hours of labor, then a man can undergo a short outpatient medical procedure that doesn’t even require general anesthesia. If a man wanted to start a family and consensually be involved in a pregnancy, he could have the vasectomy reversed. This would effectively reduce pregnancies that were caused by nonconsensual sex and, for the most part, ensure that the resulting child would have two parents who want and are ready to care for it.
