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Planned Parenthood offers vasectomies in Michigan as abortion access drops

A Planned Parenthood health center in Detroit. Planned Parenthood of Michigan has launched vasectomy services at a center in Grand Rapids and plans to expand to other sites in Michigan. Photo courtesy of Eli Newman/Bridge Michigan.

Editor note: This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan��(bridgemi.com), a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. To get regular coverage from Bridge Michigan, sign up for a free Bridge Michigan newsletter ��().” 

by Eli Newman, Bridge Michigan 

Citing an increased demand for “permanent birth control” since the US Supreme Court , Planned Parenthood of Michigan will now offer vasectomy services to its patients.

The minor surgery is being offered at Planned Parenthood of Michigan , with more locations expected to come online throughout the year. Planned Parenthood maintains 10 brick-and-mortar clinics in Michigan and a statewide telehealth program.

The Michigan chapter ceased its vasectomy operations about a decade ago, officials said, but a newfound need has pushed the organization to resume its efforts.

“The demand is real and present,” Dr. Kate Starr, chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood of Michigan, told Bridge Michigan. “Patients and their partners are looking for ways to control their lives and their families, and vasectomy is one of the ways in which they can do that.”

The surgery will be available to adults 21 and older and costs $800 without insurance coverage, including a $100 consultation fee. Planned Parenthood of Michigan is in-network for many health plans.

“There are patients in the state of Michigan whose only option has been being on a long wait list for a hospital-based procedure six to eight months from now,” Starr said. “We are offering access to folks who want vasectomy and also likely need reasonably priced care.”

Planned Parenthood of Michigan, which serves about 50,000 patients each year, and its national counterpart are facing . Millions of dollars tied to Title X family planning were restored in December after being .

Paula Thornton Greear, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Michigan, said despite “significant challenges” last year, when leaving many rural areas without in-person services, vasectomy demand is rising.

“As the attacks on sexual and reproductive health continue to grow nationwide, our resolve only deepens,” Thornton Greear said in a statement. “Everyone deserves the power to decide if, when, and how to grow their family, and our commitment to helping Michiganders exercise that right is unwavering.”

a rapid rise in permanent contraception nationwide following the Supreme Court 2022 Dobbs v. Women Health Organization decision, even in states that preserved abortion access. With that ruling, the court overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion and returning authority to the states.

Dobbs effect

In the months following the Dobbs decision, a court blocked a . Voters later approved an amendment . Still, the prospect of limited reproductive medical services had an observable impact.

that analyzed a single health system in Michigan found there was a 150% rise in vasectomy consultations and a 160% increase in vasectomy volume in the six months following the Dobbs ruling.

������Ƶ 1 in 10 adult men in America have had a procedure resulting in sterilization, like a vasectomy, according to a .

Planned Parenthood of Michigan reports a 40% increase of male patients seeking non-vasectomy services like gender-affirming care and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment since 2023, having served 8,500 men and gender-diverse individuals last year.

A vasectomy can be done in less than an hour and without general anesthesia. Patients typically return home later that day, Starr said.

Planned Parenthood of Michigan requires two appointments for the service — clinics will have an initial consultation before the “no-scapel” vasectomy surgery, a minimally invasive procedure where the tube that carries semen in the scrotum is severed.

While the procedure can sometimes be reversed by a urologist, Planned Parenthood and many physicians warn of lower pregnancy success rates after a reversal and do not recommend vasectomies for people who may want children in the future.

This first appeared on and is republished here under a .

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and a founder of the Manchester Mirror.