Low Cost Vasectomies

[joreth]

With billboards and commercials aimed at low-income populations to try and correct some of their low-income problems, it surprises me how few people know that vasectomies are available for a reasonable price.

One of the many, many problems contributing to poverty is the difficulty in regulating the size of the family. When people don't have money for healthcare, people don't know how to control the size of their families, and in a post-agricultural society, children are no longer assets, but liabilities.

So it benefits both the individual family and the governmental agencies aimed at providing assistance (and therefore the taxpayers who contribute) to offer low-cost options to help limit procreation. This is why Planned Parenthood just gives out condoms for free (preventing disease follows the same benefits).

But female sterilization is complicated and expensive because of the intrusive nature of the surgery.

Male sterilization is much more simple, easier on the patient and the doctor, and cheaper. Plus, a single male can produce more offspring than a single female. So it should be obvious that it is in the government's best interest to offer low-cost/free vasectomies.

And, coincidentally, the government health agencies and other socially-conscious agencies agree!

So I'm posting a few links to a few resources here in the Orlando area for low-cost vasectomy options, much like I have posted in the past for low-cost STD testing options. For people who are not in the Orlando area, hopefully this will at least make people aware of the option and do some research in their own areas.

http://www.vasweb.com/Vasectomy/Kissimmee_PCC.htm - $490 no-needle, no-scalpel
http://www.ppgo.org/clinic/vasectomy - $350 - $1000 depending on local Planned Parenthood office, plus many offer cost on a sliding-scale.
http://www.doh.state.fl.us/family/famplan/whatsright.html#ms - I can't find cost info at the website, but I did send an email asking for more information.  However, the county also offers vasectomy services and they're typically low-cost because that's their target audience.  I'll update that when I get a response.

So, there ya go men, it's cheaper, simpler, and safer for men to get vasectomies and there are low-cost options available everywhere.  And if $500 is a steep price to pay, I'm going to suggest that the cost of an abortion or raising an unplanned kid isn't any cheaper (for the record, an abortion in Orlando costs roughly $450 or more and is only available at 2 locations).

Of course, vasectomies are not the answer for everyone.  Most people want to have children someday, just not today, and there are lots of temporary preventative measures available that I'll be happy to talk about elsewhere. 

But, for the men who are done having children or who never want to have children, a vasectomy is a pretty reliable method that a person only has to do once and he never has to worry about it breaking or whether his female partner is keeping up with her method of birth control.


**Some of you may have noticed that I tagged this with my STI tag.  Of course, pregnancy isn't an infection, but I'm pretty firmly on the position that an unwanted parasite could fall under the umbrella of sexually-transmitted illnesses for the practical purposes of Things To Avoid That Are Caused By Sex and is usually included in safe-sex agreements, the likes of which include things like "don't bring anything home that you can't take back"**

Comments

[kauainightdrive.livejournal.com]

I wish tubal ligation was easier for low income women to access. I do not want children-ever. I can't qualify for an IUD (Valvular heart problems, Utuerus problems, polyamorous, never had a kid before, probably other reasons I don't even know of), and I won't go on hormonal birth control AND I am allergic to latex. I know of a few things that can make my sex life harder--one of which I recently mentioned to you--but it's goddamn hard enough.

[joreth]

Me too. I spent my twenties being told I was too young (and too poor) for a tubal, and I don't react well to hormonal methods. I just plain old don't like latex, and I get all kinds of crap for never having had kids before. I'd like for it to be cheaper, and I'd like for it to be less invasive. All female-methods are complicated, expensive, or have long-term side effects (except the female condom, which is just awkward). It's a huge relief to me to have two of my partners sterilized, but that doesn't solve the problem of future partners.

[terry31415.livejournal.com]

About the latex allergy thing...do you know about polyisoprene condoms?

http://www.one2fit.com/en_2_cat66_sub142_product2138.htm
(It's the perfect condom for poly people! Even the material is poly!)

[kauainightdrive.livejournal.com]

I usually use the Trojan Supra--they are polyurethane---simply because I seem to see them around more often.

However, my problem with the polyurethane ones is they only come in one size. I've definitely had breakage problems before. This makes me very, very nervous with those condoms, and I have a hard time relaxing during sex while using them because of the entirely justified fear that they will break.

Have you personally used the polyisoprene condoms? Have you used the polyurethane condoms? What are the pros/cons (in your experience) of the polyisoprene ones vs polyurethane?

[terry31415.livejournal.com]

I've tried polyurethane condoms, just to try them, and I was kind of spooked by their inflexibility (compared to latex).

I've also tried the polyisoprene condoms, just to try them, and I found them to be more like latex condoms, in terms of stretchability.

However, I don't have a problem with latex condoms, but I have a partner who sometimes does. She is fine with Lifestyles UltraSensitive, which happens to be my normal brand (we are so compatible!).

Hmmm...Lifestyles also makes a Skyn polyisoprene condom, which I didn't know about. Here is a link to their comparison between polyisoprene and polyurethane condoms:
http://www.lifestyles.com/pdf/polyisoprene_vs_polyurethane.pdf

[corpsefairy.livejournal.com]

It depends on your area. Have you contacted your local Planned Parenthood? I had my tubes tied through them when I was 24, and I was low-income enough that my tubal turned out to be free. They gave me no hassle about it whatsoever - no "you're too young" or "you'll change your mind" or anything. I'll love them forever for that.

[kauainightdrive.livejournal.com]

I have heard that's the case for some places, like Oregon. It's enough to make me want to move to oregon for 6 months to get the surgery done. I live in Florida. Not a liberal state.

If I was going to do this surgery, I'd go to Orlando, where my family lives so that I could have some one to watch over me after the surgery. This places me right where Joreth is. If they wouldn't do it for her, they wouldn't do it for me. But its true--I haven't actually asked.

[joreth]

Planned Parenthood is usually pretty good about not discriminating based on age. They've seen too many pregnant teenagers and low-income mothers of several to be as antagonistic as private physicians.

I have not inquired at PP of Orlando specifically regarding tubal surgeries, so they may still be able to help you. But Florida does not assist PP, so they don't offer free services, otherwise, I'd be waiting on the doorstep when the clinic opened.

I also have a problem that I work a very physically demanding job and I can't actually afford to be put on "light duty" for several weeks (there is no "light duty" at my work). If I had gotten it back when I did office work, I wouldn't have a problem.

[kauainightdrive.livejournal.com]

I also do physically demanding work--I work on organic farms. I'm also car-free, meaning I cycle everywhere. That's why I'd have to go home to my families. I couldn't go back to work until I was healed from the surgery. Ironically, my family would never support my decision to have tubal ligation.

I'm actually about to go home for a visit on Monday. Maybe I'll just get my papsmear there and discuss the ligation cost and process then.

[leora.livejournal.com]

This gives me visions of an underground railroad for sterilization. It wouldn't even need to be underground. But transport people in, get them fixed, give them some help for a bit while they heal and send them back to their non-liberal states.

It'd be awesome if there were people doing this.

[kauainightdrive.livejournal.com]

Dude, what an amazing idea. What if we expanded this for abortion services as well? You know how some states only have 1 or abortion clinics. There could a be a web of craiglist type rideshares and couchsurfing type couches set up for women who needed a way to get to the clinic and a place to stay during the mandatory waiting period, or whatever. Or if like, you're in a state with a mandatory waiting period and the state next to you doesn't have one.

We should set up a website for this. I'm not even joking. I'm seriously going to look into making this sorta thing happen, if there isn't already something similar happening.

I think this is a fucking fantastic idea.

[leora.livejournal.com]

I think that'd be incredibly wonderful, and I think it'd be fantastic if you worked on it.

Ideas are easy. Actually making things happen is hard. Unfortunately, I know my limits. I can't make this happen. I'm severely disabled and this is the sort of project that would require energy, organization, and repeated effort. I'd make a mess of it. But if you can get people involved who actually are competent, it'd be wonderful.

Pretty much the best I do is to try to vote for positive changes.

[joreth]

Yep, each PP acts as sort of a franchise, where they have the basic quality standards all the same, but financial stuff depends on local jurisdictions.

Florida does not subsidize PP, so they do not offer any free services and I have been unable to get them to give me information about sliding scales for low-income people. They quote me a price and that's it.

I'm over 30 now, so I shouldn't have any more problems, but the fact that I've never had kids sometimes causes negative reactions, and one person (not related to health care) *still* gave me the "you're too young" speech when she found out my age. I'm quite a bit bitter on this topic :-)

[kauainightdrive.livejournal.com]

I also also extremely bitter on this topic, and I'm only 24.

My family places extreme pressure on me to get married and have kids. They can't seem to decide if I'm "wasting my best years" or "too young to know my own mind." My grandmother, for example, tells me how "Old" I am getting by telling me about how she had all 3 of her children by the time she was my age. Then she'll turn around and tell me that my lackluster interest in marriage or children is a "phase" I will outgrow. Drives me fucking NUTS. Am I kid or an old maid???

And I've never even TRIED to discuss the fact that I prefer non-hetero-normative relationships. I have no biological sex preference, but I have a preference for a little gender-fucking in my fucking, ya know? Sometimes I fantasize about bring a-not-completely-transitioned FTM home or an male-bodied person who likes to cross dress home and telling them I'm getting married. I will never, never do this. But man, I can just imagine the look on their faces.....

[joreth]

Pretty much everyone who has the "you'll grow out of it" attitude treats me the same way. That was the basis for my rant not too long ago about being old enough to die for my country, to get married, to have kids, but not old enough to *not* do those things. It was frustrating to me when I was a child, when I was a teenager, in my twenties, and it only gets more frustrating with time because I'm supposed to reach some magical age that I'm old enough to decide these things and I never seem to reach it.

Hell, my mother still asks me if I make it to work on time in the morning. I have to explain to her that I'm older than she was when she had both her kids and that I'm pretty sure I can manage to wake myself up for work.

[terry31415.livejournal.com]

Hey, this is a great post! Thanks for putting that information out there!

I went to a PP for a vasectomy, but they referred me to another clinic. Overall, the cost was about $300.

I like the upgrade, and my co-husband is getting the same thing done soon.

Overall, the process was pretty easy. The surgery was easy, recovery was easy. The first week was mildly painful (about a 2 on a 10 pt scale) and after that it was just fine.

I really, really don't want to ever have those uncomfortable days after some wild sperm get loose (condom breakage, leakage, etc). I had one once, with my first girlfriend and that was enough.

Yay for vasectomies!

[stacycat69.livejournal.com]

On one hand, 500 at one time is hard to come up with.

However, $500 for a one time birth control and no other recurring costs is very reasonable. I have seen quotes around that amount for IUDs, which last 5-12 years, depending on which one the individual has. A year of the pill, at 30 bucks a case, is 360 dollars.

I wish more places offered payment plans on medical procedures, especially preventative ones.

[joreth]

I wish there were more low-cost options and payment plans too. The county clinics here and Planned Parenthood do accept credit cards, so that's one "payment plan" option.

Unfortunately, a lot of states are cutting their health budgets, which of course affect the poor and economically challenged first. Alaska is actually cutting their vaccination budget right now.

It's a sad state of affairs when we have the knowledge and ability to prevent more serious or long-term complications but we collectively decide to save money in the short term instead.