It’s not just that it’s riskier than a vasectomy. Tubal ligations are routinely denied to women who are under thirty-five or who don’t have kids. And not for the reasons outlined above, but because we have a paternalistic medical system that believes women aren’t capable of making decisions about their own bodies. In fact, though it’s not a legal requirement, it’s also not uncommon for a doctor to require a woman to get the signature of her husband before they are willing to perform a tubal ligation.
