Snip Snip into the Recession

In today's recession coupons are not the only things being cut out in the American household in order to save money; clinics all over the country from California to New York are seeing an increase in vasectomies. This article from the New York Times "Uptick in Vasectomies Seen as Sign of Recession" sheds some light on this phenomenon explaining that men are seeking the procedure more recently because of our recent economic status.

Reasons given explain the "vasectomy boom" include the recession, and job loss. Many are taking advantage of health insurance while they have the chance, for fear of losing their jobs because insurance almost always covers it. It is considered one of the best methods of birth control because it is almost 100 percent effective, it can be done within minutes, and recovery only lasts a couple of days.

This recent trend impressed me! I was humbled to learn that our nation's people are being so responsible with our family planning, as opposed with our spending and savings. It seems that every other woman I know is pregnant and I just keep thinking "Whoa! Who wants to bring a child into this madness?" apparently I'm not the only one thinking so because as the article says: "In Seattle, Dr. Charles Wilson of the Vasectomy Clinic says that in the last half-year he has performed an average of 123 of the procedures each month — 13 percent above the year-earlier average." and "...visits to Vasectomy.com — a 10-year-old informational site that also markets doctors to patients — were up 17.5 percent in the first quarter, compared with the first three months of last year."

I suppose I found this article so interesting because I am so interested in our financial situation as well as sociology, this article is so appealing because it explains the trends amongst such a large and broad group of people, all made up of different backgrounds, religions, and creed, right here in the "world's mixing pot". I think it would be interesting to know what the statistics of vasectomies in different cultures are. In a country where abortion is supported or so strongly opposed I wouldn't have thought that vasectomies were so accepted, and desired.