Challenges Facing Childfree Females Who Want Sterilization

The Challenges Faced by Women Who Choose to Remain Childless

The society expects every fertile woman to get married at some point in life and bear children. Young females who want to be childfree encounter some challenges when they visit a hospital to get permanent tubal ligation. Christen Reighter in her “I Don’t Want Children – Stop Telling me I’ll Change My Mind” talks about the challenges she faced due to her decision to remain childless. Also, Cristina Richie’s article “Voluntary Sterilization for Childfree Women” asserts that the majority of health professionals refuse to sterilize women who want to remain childfree for the rest of their lives. Females who do not wish to have children face some challenges when they visit health centers for sterilization.

The Need for Acceptance and Understanding

Before watching the TedTalk and reading the article, I did not know that women who want to remain childfree do not access the services as compared to their counterparts who have children. My perception was that every female has a right to choose whether to bear children or not. However, I wonder why a fertile woman would not want to bear a child even if it is just one. Although there are about 415,000 young people in foster homes in the United States of America (USA), it does not give a reason for not having children (Reighter). The society should not pressurize young ladies who want a childless life. The other thing I did not know before reading the journal and watching the TedTalk is that there exists a sterilization policy. Overall, doctors should accept the legal contraception request for women who meet the requirements as stated by the law.

The Struggles Faced by Childfree Women

Both Reighter and Richie focus on the problem that childfree women encounter when they want to undergo sterilization. Reighter is one of the females who chose not to have children. She reveals that although she was over 21 years old, of sound mind, and acting on her accord, the doctor did not believe that she wanted to remain childless. Richie explains that childfree women are humiliated by physicians at first so that they can give up on their request of not bearing children. In reality, less than 1% of childfree women who want sterilization gets it (Richie 37). Many obstetricians, urologists, surgeons, and physicians say that they do not provide such kind of surgery when they come across childless females who want to undergo the procedure. The primary difference between the TedTalk and article is that Reighter gives firsthand information of her experiences before tubal ligation while Richie uses secondary sources to show why the majority of doctors are not willing to sterilize childfree women.

Addressing Sterilization for Childfree Women

The audience of TedTalk and article are young females who might want to choose to be childless for the rest of their life. In my opinion, women should be given the right to decide whether they are willing to bear children or not. Also, doctors should examine females who want to be sterilized and perform the surgery if they meet the requirements (Richie 40). Sterilization for childfree women is a critical problem that should be addressed to prevent the stigma associated with not having babies willingly. My perception of childfree women has changed after reading the journal and watching the TedTalk. Women have rights to sterilization as long as they comply with the policy and doctors should perform the surgery without giving excuses.

The Unwillingness of Physicians and the Importance of Contraception

To sum up, many sterilization issues arise due to physicians’ unwillingness to grant women the right to contraception. I have learned that some females who meet the sterilization policy requirements encounter difficulties when doctors hesitate to perform the surgery, which is meant to be intentionally done so that they can change their mind. Reighter and Richie portray that health professionals are the significant problem facing childfree females who want to undergo tubal ligation. Richie conducts qualitative research while Reighter gives firsthand information about what happened to her when she decided not to have children in her life.

Works Cited

Reighter, Christen. “I don’t want children – stop telling me I’ll change my mind.” TEDxMileHighWomen, 2016, https://www.ted.com/talks/christen_reighter_i_don_t_want_children_stop_telling_me_i_ll_change_my_mind?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare. Accessed 22 Oct. 2018.

Richie, Cristina. ”Voluntary sterilization for childfree women.” The Hastings Center Report, 43(6), 36-44.