Health care reform should include male sterilization coverage | Letter
October 5, 2012 · Updated 10:31 AM
More and more politicians are stating that they are pro-choice.
What choice are they talking about? Shouldn’t men be part of the equation? As far as I know, they are an essential contributor to the life of a child.
Just as women have a clear choice, men do as well. Our public policy and health care reform should require coverage of male sterilization without cost-sharing. In the U.S., statistics show that more than 20 percent of families have a female head of household. This is clear evidence that many men do not want to support and nurture their offspring either emotionally or financially.
Providing easy access to vasectomies at no extra cost to the patient would result in a decrease in women feeling they have to make a choice between single-parenthood and the termination of a pregnancy.
Twenty-five percent of very young children in America are living in poverty, according to an analysis of Census data released last year. Men are an equal player in this unfortunate statistic. By choosing vasectomy men are making a positive contribution to improving the opportunity for more children to be cared for and supported without the burden of too many mouths to feed.
I would like to see more politicians stand up and be counted as pro-choice: the choice of easy, safe and affordable vasectomies.
Margaret Bull, Kirkland
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