The problem, according to Doctor Anthony Giwerc, is that “young people take vasectomy as a means of contraception. However, it is a means of sterilization”.
Published on 02/13/2024 11:39
Temps de lecture : 4 min
Photo d’illustraton. (PETER DAZELEY / THE IMAGE BANK RF / VIA GETTY)
Number of “young adults from 18 years old” who wish to have a vasectomy “increases enormously”, reported Tuesday February 13 on franceinfo Anthony Giwerc, urulogist. According to a study by Health Insurance and the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM), the number of vasectomies increased from 1,940 in 2010 to 30,288 in 2022, or fifteen times more. For years, vasectomies were reserved for a class of men, 35-40 years old, he explained. But today young people are more and more inclined to take the plunge. Global warming and overpopulation of the planet are often mentioned by young patients. “The problem is that today, for men, we have few contraceptives”explains Anthony Giwerc. Young people take vasectomies as a means of contraception. However, it is a means of sterilization”he recalled.
franceinfo: Are you seeing more and more requests for consultation? ?
Anthony Giwerc : For several years, we have had a boom in vasectomies to be taken with a pinch of salt since it is not a boom compared to Anglo-Saxon countries, but we have seen the number of vasectomies increase considerably and especially the type of people coming for consultations. .
“For years, vasectomy was reserved for a class of men aged 35, 40, who wanted to no longer have children in the family, who wanted to take charge of the couple’s contraception.”
Anthony Giwerc, urulogue
at franceinfo
More and more, we see young adults from the age of 18 arriving at our consultation, who do not wish to have children at all and, seeing the few methods of contraception available to men, wish to have recourse to a vasectomy. It’s increasing enormously.
Are you trying to dissuade them?
There has been a legal framework which has governed vasectomy since July 2001. It is a method of sterilization for contraceptive purposes, that is to say a technique which is irreversible. To validate a vasectomy, a reflection period of four months is required. So the first consultation consists of exposing all the alternatives to vasectomy, that is to say all the contraceptives available on the market. Once we have explained all the alternatives to them, we go into the explanations of vasectomy. From the moment they have signed the consent and thought about it for four months, they are free to use this surgical technique. It is an operation that is becoming easier and easier, which has been revolutionized by so-called “no scalpel” techniques. It can even be under local anesthesia for an operating time of 15 and 20 minutes and which is done on an outpatient basis with few complications.
Is climate change a reason given by young people who want a vasectomy?
Quite. What we often hear is “the planet is too populated. There are many children awaiting adoption. For the moment, I have no plans for parenthood, but I would like to to be in control of my own fertility. I want a vasectomy.” I hear it more and more.
Is it really irreversible?
There are always repair methods. We have gone to great lengths to be able to occlude these small ejaculatory ducts to prevent the secretion of spermatozoa into the semen. We can repair, but the problem is that the repair is not effective and constant. The effectiveness of the repair varies between 20 and 60% of cases. I tell all patients, “you have to go head-on, telling yourself this is an irreversible sterilization method.” On the other hand, I always systematically advise patients as an alternative solution, which is to keep sperm in a bank just in case. If he ever changes his mind, they can still have children born via in vitro fertilization.
According to the President of the Republic, the decline in demographics is due to the decline in fertility. He is right ?
Of course. The decline in fertility has been known for several years. Sperm concentration has declined dramatically due to many factors, including exposure to endocrine disruptors. Indeed, the alteration in the quality of sperm causes a drop in fertility to be observed.
Do you, with the young people who come to see you, have the same speech as Emmanuel Macron on the demographic rearmament of France?
Yes. This is why I insist on giving them all the contraceptive alternatives. Young people take vasectomies as a means of contraception. However, it is a means of sterilization. And what’s wrong is that today, for men, we have few contraceptives. There remains the condom which has the advantage of its disadvantages. It protects against sexually transmitted diseases, but comes between the partner and his companion. A contact surface which alters the quality of sexual intercourse. There remains the so-called withdrawal method. For the moment, we are waiting for thermal and hormonal methods of contraception, but which have not yet been validated by the French Association of Urology.