A Canadian vasectomy specialist says more men are getting snipped because doctors are more willing to offer the procedure and there’s been a shift in the way society views childlessness. (Courtesy: Canva)
Royston Simon, a new father from Cambridge, Ontario, didn’t hesitate long before making a permanent choice for his future: a vasectomy after his first child.
The 32-year-old real estate broker welcomed a little boy when he was 29, but at 31 years old he underwent the minimally invasive procedure to prevent further pregnancies.
A vasectomy involves cutting and sealing the tubes that carry sperm, resulting in a long-term birth control method.
Simon’s son turns four this year, but the father of one said almost immediately after his child was born he and his fiance quickly reached the conclusion that they didn’t want any more kids.
“I realized that one I think, was enough for me, not even just from a financial standpoint, more so from a responsibility standpoint and just peace of mind and freedom of time, and realizing really quickly and really early that, you know, I really do value having time to myself,” he told Now Toronto last month.
“I see some people with two or three or four kids at my age, and I’m like, ‘How are you even doing it?’ Because I know how much I feel drained from the one kid that I have. I love him to death, but there’s no ignoring or overlooking how demanding and exhausting it can be at times,” Simon continued.
Whether it’s a slow and quiet evening after work, sleeping in on a weekend, or sitting around and doing nothing, the desire to maintain the choice to do so is what prompted Simon to share his perspective with his partner.
“She had those same feelings as well,” he said, adding that opting for a vasectomy meant she would not have to undergo tubal ligation, a more invasive birth control surgery. He added that choosing to go through with his procedure was a “collective” decision.
Soon after their conversation, Simon met with his doctor who was happy to set things in motion.
“I was definitely one of the luckier ones to have a doctor who didn’t really give me much pushback. I kind of went in and expressed my feelings, and he pretty much just let me proceed with the process with ease,” he said, before adding that friends of his had had a harder time finding a physician willing to give them the go ahead.
Before he went ahead with it, Simon was told that if he ever wants to reverse the procedure it will cost him about $5,000, but that didn’t change his mind.
Simon described the entire process, which is free in Ontario, as “simple and easy,” but time consuming because there is a waiting list for vasectomies.
MORE YOUNG CANADIAN MEN CONSIDERING VASECTOMIES
Dr. Jean-Philippe Bercier, a Canadian vasectomy specialist practicing out of Hawkesbury, Montreal and Ottawa, told Now Toronto that there are plenty of young men making the same choice as Simon.
According to Bercier, research indicates age and childlessness don’t affect vasectomy regret rates. As a result, some clinics in Canada, including his, now accept patients under 30, with only three per cent of men seeking reversals, he told Now.
“Most of them just don’t want kids…and often have a partner who doesn’t want to have kids either,” Bercier explained.
Statistics Canada says birth patterns fluctuated from 2019 to 2022, but that the number of births has been in general decline in Canada for 15 years.
Rates hit an all-time low in 2023, with 1.26 children being born per woman, though no links have been made between this and vasectomies.
According to the government agency, the drop in births in 2023 mostly reflects an increase in the number of women of childbearing age that year, as the number of births was similar in both 2022 and 2023.
Meanwhile, Bericer says contraception and its impact on hormones could also be an issue from a woman’s perspective, meaning couples he sees have often agreed it is more beneficial for the male partner to have a vasectomy.
Bericer puts decisions like Simon’s down to doctors being more willing to offer the procedure to men who are childless and under 30 and to men who don’t want more children, in addition to a change in the way society views childlessness in general.
“There’s a shift in our society. I think, you know, obviously we’re not living the same way as our parents used to. So, our values, our priorities are changing. And that is also, you know, contraception is part of this,” he explained.
Now Toronto hit the streets in late December to ask some young locals if they would consider getting “snipped.”
“I think to make a decision like that for the rest of your life and not know before is a bit rash,” one unidentified male pedestrian said.
“Choosing to have a vasectomy in your 20s is ridiculous, pretty quick,” another young man chimed in.
Meanwhile, some female residents were very much in support of a man’s right to choose the procedure.
“They can do whatever they want to their bodies,” one unidentified woman told Now Toronto.
“Your body, your choice,” another woman said.
ARE ATTITUDES TRULY SHIFTING?
Simon says despite the support from his doctors, his partner and some friends, not everyone in his life was on board with his decision.
He says his dad was disappointed that he would not have more grandchildren, and he received some general pushback from his peers and others because of their expectations that he would want multiple children. However, he says his partner had always supported his decision.
“As long as me and my partner are OK with it, I don’t think anybody else’s opinion really matters,” he said, adding that he is in full support of young people being mindful of their decision to have children.
After sharing his vasectomy experience on TikTok, Simon said he received many messages asking how he got his partner on board.
“I think that’s a very loud cry for how much we suppress how we feel to appease others,” he said. “When you’re choosing intentionally to have one [a vasectomy], it’s almost looked at like you’re a black sheep. That’s how I felt by a lot of people’s reactions,” Simon explained.
Nonetheless, he said he and his partner celebrated their decision together and that it was “uplifting” to have her by his side throughout.
