Columbus resident Kathryn Poe is planning their upcoming wedding. But there鈥檚 one thing Poe and their fianc茅 are planning that isn鈥檛 commonly found on the 鈥渢o do鈥� list provided by wedding consultants 鈥� going under the knife to be sterilized.
鈥淚f I were to get pregnant, it would be seriously life-threatening. There鈥檚 a pretty high likelihood I could die,鈥� Poe said.
Poe, 24, said their fianc茅 has agreed to get a vasectomy.
鈥淚鈥檓 pretty sure he is going to schedule one for December,鈥� said Poe, who first talked to Statehouse News Bureau in May about the possibility of sterilization after the U.S. Supreme Court's draft opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health was leaked.
And Poe said they're talking to doctors about also getting sterilized, just to make sure an unintended pregnancy doesn鈥檛 happen.
While Ohio鈥檚 current ban on abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy does allow exceptions for medical emergencies, other legislation is being considered that doesn鈥檛. And Poe doesn鈥檛 want to take any chances.
鈥淭his will definitely make me feel safer and given the current considerations in the Ohio Legislature, I don鈥檛 know how long abortion is going to be legal even at six weeks,鈥� Poe said.
Majority Republicans in the Ohio House and Senate have already said they want to pass a ban on abortion later this year that goes further than the current six-week one, which is being challenged in court. And some of the legislation under consideration could also ban popular forms of birth control and IVF treatments.
Poe is not the only Ohioan who is considering permanent voluntary sterilization. Dr. Samantha Clark, an OB-GYN from northeast Ohio, said she鈥檚 seeing an increase in patients who want to be voluntarily sterilized.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen a very large jump in young women coming in for sterilization requests even if they already have long-acting contraception because they are so fearful,鈥� Clark said.
Clark says patients are afraid they鈥檒l lose effective methods of birth control soon. Other Ohio physicians also say they鈥檙e seeing more interest in tubal ligations or vasectomies.
For instance, the Cleveland Clinic reports there were three to four daily requests to schedule vasectomies before the U.S. Supreme Court decision, and that soared to a total of 90 in the week after it.
Meanwhile, Democrats who are outnumbered nearly two to one in the Ohio Legislature, are focusing on trying to win some seats statewide and nationally in November so they can pass legislation to codify abortion rights.
Activists for and against legal abortion are also considering taking the issue before Ohio voters next year. But neither side has started the official process to put those measures on the statewide ballot.
