The first time the procedure was carried out on a human (before that there is a recorded case of a vasectomy carried out on a dog) was over 130 years ago. It is a relatively minor procedure and one that was generally used for personal family planning. However, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade in June 2022 this was no longer the case.

"The data that followed were striking. Within the Military Health System (MHS), vasectomy incidence rose 22% in the six months after the ruling. The effect was geographically heterogeneous: Texas recorded a 29.3% surge while Virginia saw a 10.6% increase, a disparity that tracked closely with the restrictiveness of state-level abortion legislation."₍₁₎

Within the general population there was also a significant increase in the number of vasectomies carried out. The evidence was clear. No longer was this a procedure carried out based on a private family decision around reproductive health/choice. With many of those opting to have the procedure being younger, unmarried and childless, it was a unambiguous response to legal changes.

Pleasingly this change may mean that the burden of reproductive responsibility is now shared and not placed on women, as it so often has. However, what is paramount, is that if vasectomies are going to be more common place then we must ensure that everyone has access to them and the same standard of care.

This is why the new Vasectomy collection, guest Edited by Dr Omer Raheem for IJIR: Your Sexual Medicine Journal is so timely and important. Compared to when vasectomies were first introduced to the public, the landscape is very different. The themes of the collection are expansive: covering surgical techniques and safety for the patient experience online, as well as inconsistent adherence to guidelines, fluctuating costs and poor compliance with post op analysis. On top of this, we have the rise of social media platforms, such as Tik-Tok, which can be rife with misinformation.

We appear to be at a critical moment and this is the time to challenge assumptions and longheld beliefs. The collection aims to give readers a complete picture of vasectomy today. Not just report on vasectomy, but delve into safety, techniques, socio-economic  and socio-political aspects, policy, counselling, plus ease any anxieties and misunderstanding that have arisen around the procedure, due to misinformation or concerns from past, limited studies.

Ultimately what is clear is that changes are needed and there isn't really time for hesitation. There could be profound effects if the current status quo is maintained. We hope you enjoy.

^{(1) Vasectomy at a crossroads: utilization, equity, and clinical practice in a changing reproductive landscape, Rashed Rowaiee & Omer Raheem, International Journal of Impotence Research (2026), https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-026-01274-z}