Many women have stories about being refused the right to be sterilized (i.e. tubal ligation or getting their tubes tied). As things stand today, there are no official federal laws or rulings that establish a woman’s right to chose whether or not she can voluntarily be sterilized. Because there is no federal guideline, it is up to each doctor and/or clinic to decide whether or not they will allow sterilization.

Often doctors reject women’s request to be sterilized because of the women’s age if she is considered too young, number of children she has if too few, or whether or not they have permission from their significant other. If her doctor refuses to do the procedure, women have no choice but to either find another doctor to do it or not have it done at all. Finding another doctor who will do the procedure can be very difficult.

Disallowing sterilization can lead to unwanted pregnancy, hormone problems from use of birth control, mental health problems/depression and stress on the mother, and miscarriages or abortion. Additionally, a child born into a family that was not prepared or did not want to have another child may face neglect, abuse, poverty, and other adverse childhood experiences.

Overall, unplanned pregnancy can be highly stressful for a woman. That is why this petition is being put forth to address the issue of women being refused the right to decide what to do with their own bodies. We hope to gain enough traction to finally get a law in place to allow women the right to decide if they want to continue to be able to have children without being told no by their doctor or being made to get permission from their spouse or significant other.

This has been a problem for decades. My mother in 1990 was refused the right to have her tubes tied. In thirty years there has been no progress, and I know this because I was very recently told about a case where the exact same thing happened to another woman. This woman was in an abusive relationship and was told she couldn't get sterilized without her significant other's (abuser's) permission. That should never happen, not thirty years ago, and not now. With this petition, we hope to make sure it never happens again.