I’ve seen this sentiment countless times from anecdotal encounters to the media. From personal in person discussions to comments on reddit (particularly more radical feminist circles) to fictional media to news outlets and debates I keep seeing this incredibly wrong notion that vasectomies are akin to IUDs (intra-uterine device) used in women for birth control. In terms of preventing unwanted pregnancies they can be seen to both be highly effective with >99% efficiency. HOWEVER, there is this incredibly wrong picture that a vasectomy is easily reversible in the same way removing an IUD restarts regular ovulation cycles. Per NHS data in the UK and references therein: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/contraception/vasectomy-reversal-nhs/

Vasectomies are not easily reversible. Already after 3 years, there is a ~25% chance you will never have a child after getting the procedure done. After this the chance only decays further. Perhaps to some this is an acceptable risk but I think for the majority of men (particularly those not yet fathers) this an unacceptably high risk. For this reason vasectomies should not be viewed as a form of birth control and only as a semi-reversible form of induced sterilisation. They are for fathers who know they don’t want any more children or men that are positive they never want them. Not as a male form of contraceptive, period.

This is sort of an off my chest because in many instances if seen posts on feminist subreddits or r/relationships where men and women alike treat it this way. It needs to stop.

Edit: for the semantics, I mean non permanent, casual, birth control. Couple comments saying that since it’s sterilisation it is technically in the definition of birth control which is true. Though personally I’m not keen on this definition philosophically because control implies you have control over birthing and not birthing, you can control becoming sterilised but not the other way around (since there’s a relatively large chance it can’t be undone). You effectively lose control when this happens, so getting one (especially when your older) is to relinquish control. Same goes for tying the Fallopian tubes. But yeah it’s technically permanent birth control if that’s the definition.