After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing states to restrict access to abortion, interest in permanent contraception options increased. For example, Google recorded the highest volume of searches for “vasectomy” in the past five years right after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision was made. A study published in April 2024 found that a rise in tubal sterilizations among females was twice as high as the increase among vasectomies in males after Dobbs. But just how permanent are these increasingly popular contraception options — especially when it comes to tubal ligation?

A new study published in NEJM Evidence suggests that tubal sterilization isn’t always guaranteed to prevent pregnancy 100 percent. In fact, it could be less effective than some other birth control options, like the hormonal arm implant or a hormonal intrauterine device. Researchers say this could change how people view tubal ligation as a so-called “permanent” contraception option, and how providers discuss birth control options post-Dobbs.

Related

“When we say ‘permanent,’ what it really means is that it is not reversible, you don't have the power to undo it — but it doesn't mean it may not fail,” Dr. Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, author of the study and chief of the UCSF Division of General Internal Medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General, told Salon. “I think what people are looking for is a method that will not fail, but we can't necessarily be promising that.”

But tubal ligation is frequently promoted as a nearly bulletproof........

© Salon