{"id":76210,"date":"2024-05-24T18:53:49","date_gmt":"2024-05-24T18:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/05\/24\/younger-troops-get-more-vasectomies-after-dobbs-decision-study-finds\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:23:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:23:44","slug":"younger-troops-get-more-vasectomies-after-dobbs-decision-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2024\/05\/24\/younger-troops-get-more-vasectomies-after-dobbs-decision-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Younger troops get more vasectomies after Dobbs decision, study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Younger, unmarried troops were more likely to get vasectomies following the 2022 Supreme Court decision that struck down nationwide abortion rights<\/a>, according to a new study in the International Journal of Impotence Research published on May 18 .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences looked at vasectomies of male active-duty, retirees and dependents across all military branches within the military\u2019s health system. Service members aged 18 to 64 had 96,617 vasectomies covered by the system from 2018 to 2022, including a large increase in the months following to the Supreme Court\u2019s Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization<\/a> <\/i>decision, which put reproductive healthcare laws in the hands of state lawmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The average number of vasectomies in the months after the Dobbs decision increased 22.1% compared to the averages of the months pre-Dobbs from 2018 to 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe assess that the reversal of Roe v. Wade was a significant driver of a sizable increase in vasectomy incidence within the [military health system], specifically amongst younger and unmarried men,\u201d according to the study. \u201cState level restrictions on abortion access may have mediated this effect; with more stringent restrictions resulting in higher rates of vasectomy utilization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of vasectomies before the Dobbs <\/i>decision remained relatively consistent, minus the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic when the number of vasectomies decreased, according to researchers. In the months following the Dobbs decision beginning in June 2022, though, men receiving vasectomies trended younger, unmarried and of a more junior rank than before the Dobbs decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\t