Woman, 23, who has never wanted children told she can’t ‘have her tubes tied’ because she might change her mind when she meets ‘Mr. Right’
A young woman was left fuming after a doctor refused to ‘tie her tubes’, telling her she could ‘meet Mr Right’ and change her mind about having children.
Olivia Downs, 23, claims she went to see her doctor to ask about the permanent procedure when she was immediately shot down.
I never want children, I have had this made up in my mind since I was old enough to think of the concept,’ she explained.
She said her doctor told her she couldn’t tie her tubes because it can’t be reversed.
‘I know, that’s why I asked, I would like that option,’ she said.
Olivia went on to explain having children ‘is not in her plan’.
‘It’s not in my five-year-plan, my 10-year-plan, of my 50-year-plan, I don’t want them,’ she said.
But her doctor stood firm and said the risk she will change her mind is too high, infuriating the young woman.
She then said there are less permanent options that are ‘just as efficient’ and told her about the IUD.
Olivia put on a voice pretending to be her doctor: ‘We put it in your uterus and you cramp and bleed for three months.’
Downs, from the US, shared a video complaining about the doctor’s refusal.
It quickly went viral with thousands of women adding their two-cents worth.
Some laughed at the idea the IUD was as effective as having your tubes tied.
‘I had my second daughter while using an IUD, and my first daughter on the pill,’ one woman said.
‘I got pregnant with the IUD too, I later had a miscarriage,’ said another.
Others fumed at the ‘Mr. Right’ comment.
‘The more men I meet the less I want to procreate,’ one woman said.
‘Yes, because all life decisions change when you meet someone… ummmmm,’ wrote another.
‘Your Mr. Right is someone who doesn’t want kids. How hard is that for doctors to understand,’ said another.
Some revealed they had also been sent home from their doctors’ office after asking similar questions.
‘Keep fighting, it took ten years for me to find a doctor who would do it,’ one woman said.
‘There is a list of doctors most likely to say yes on Reddit, check that out,’ suggested another.
‘What frustrates me is they say ill change my mind too- but I am gay and my wife also doesn’t want children,’ complained another.
Olivia said she would ‘literally spiral’ if she ended up getting pregnant with a kid she doesn’t want.
‘I don’t want to be on hormonal birth control either – just let me have it,’ she said, noting if she changed her mind she could always adopt.
Another woman who is ‘chronically ill’ and said having a baby could be dangerous complained she has been trying to have hers tied for seven years.
‘They suggested my partner get sterilized instead, I don’t understand the logic,’ she said.
Another woman said she wanted her tubes tied at 33, after having six children.
‘They still wouldn’t do it, said I was too young, I told then I had completed my family but they wouldn’t budge.’
Tubal ligation surgery is legal in most western countries for any adult woman who is well informed, fully understands the consequences, and consents freely to the procedure.
There is no official age limit, a minimum number of children, or spousal consent requirement, however it appears many women struggle to find a doctor willing to go ahead with the procedure.