First national study of Dobbs ruling’s effect on permanent contraception among young adults

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

The first study to evaluate the effect of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling on permanent contraception procedures among young adults nationwide was published today in a JAMA Health Forum research letter.

The study, authored by policy researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and Boston University, underscores how the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling changed preferences for permanent contraception among people ages 18 to 30, who are more likely to have abortions and are also more likely to experience sterilization regret compared to people over 30.

The study is also the first to assess how the Dobbs ruling changed permanent contraception procedures among females relative to males.

Following the Dobbs decision, the authors found, permanent sterilization procedures among young adults abruptly increased nationwide. The magnitude of this increase was twice as high for tubal sterilizations relative to vasectomies. Over time, tubal sterilizations continued to increase; for vasectomies, however, the initial jump was not sustained.

Compared to vasectomy, tubal ligation procedures are far more complex and are anywhere from two to six times more expensive, said lead author Jacqueline Ellison, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Pitt School of Public Health. Tubal ligation reversal requires major surgery, whereas vasectomy reversal is much less invasive, she added.

“The major difference in patterns of these two procedures likely reflects the fact that young women are overwhelmingly responsible for preventing pregnancy and disproportionately experience the health, social and economic consequences of abortion bans,” she said.

The other authors on the study are Brittany Brown-Podgorski, Ph.D., of Pitt and Jake Morgan, Ph.D., of Boston University.

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JOURNAL

JAMA Health Forum

DOI

10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.0424 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Changes in Permanent Contraception Procedures Among Young Adults Following the Dobbs Decision

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

12-Apr-2024

Changes in permanent contraception procedures among young adults following the Dobbs decision

JAMA Health Forum

Peer-Reviewed Publication

JAMA NETWORK

About The Study: Researchers observed an abrupt increase in permanent contraception procedures among adults ages 18 to 30 following Dobbs. The increase in procedures for female patients was double that for male patients. These patterns offer insights into the gendered dynamics of permanent contraceptive use and may reflect the disproportionate health, social, and economic consequences of compulsory pregnancy on women and people with the capacity to become pregnant. 

Authors: Jacqueline E. Ellison, Ph.D., of the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, is the corresponding author.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.0424)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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About JAMA Health Forum: JAMA Health Forum is an international, peer-reviewed, online, open access journal that addresses health policy and strategies affecting medicine, health and health care. The journal publishes original research, evidence-based reports and opinion about national and global health policy; innovative approaches to health care delivery; and health care economics, access, quality, safety, equity and reform. Its distribution will be solely digital and all content will be freely available for anyone to read.

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JOURNAL

JAMA Health Forum