No-Scalpel Vasectomy

*Originally published in the "Speaking Out" section of th Baguio Midland Courier (18 May 2008), p. 08

The National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB) projects that by 2020 there will have been over 111 million Filipinos. With the current rice crisis, our burgeoning population continues to demand that families take reproductive health issues seriously.

However, in a country where these issues are still largely overshadowed by machismo and the unrealistic and unjust prohibitions of religious authorities (why we let celibates be so authoritative about our sex lives or family plans is beyond me), we are ensured that we’re going to be stuck in this population problem for the long haul.

I am aware, of course, that the solution to a complex problem as population boom can’t simply be reduced to getting rid of machismo or certain religious dogmas. But certainly it greatly helps when more couples will employ applicable family methods available, regardless of how some religious folks or a patriarchal community would react.

I advocate sparing wives from being submitted to the messy and literally gut-wrenching tubal ligation, so let me talk about no-scalpel vasectomy (NSV), a simple, quick, nearly painless, and expense-free procedure.

In my interview with Marjorie Verroya, official nurse to the Baguio City Hall under the office of Dr. John Tinoyan, I gathered that from 2003 to 2008 there have only been 73 males who submitted themselves to NSV despite the fact that it is free of charge, including medicines. Four of these are foreigners (2 Americans, 1 Aussie, 1 Swiss) and a Filipino-Spanish mestizo. The Americans must have been happily surprised that NSV here is free, knowing that back in the US a similar operation would have cost htem as high as 500 USD. The rest are either from Ifugao, Baguio, or other areas adjacent to the city. Although petients include engineers, doctors, and teachers, the majority belong to what may be considered as blue-collar jobs.

A peek into their records reveals that over half of them are Roman Catholics – an encouraging number, given the hardline stance of the Pope against artificial methods of birth control. Others are a sprinkling of Methodists, Pentecostals (particularly, the “Solid Rock” group), Jehovah’s Witnessses, Iglesia Ni Cristo, Church of Christ, and Lutheran.

While researches reveal that vasectomy in general has a .1% failure rate, all of the 73 NSV cases above reported no unwanted impregnation. For those who who want a zero failure rate though, I suggest castration or total abstinence.

I think two major reasons why, even when reproductive health workers in the country have been hollering themselves hoarse inviting men to undergo NSV, most men in the country refuse to be enticed, are their misconception about their manhood and the nature of the family planning method itself.

I have had male friends who would say either in earnest or in jest after lerarning that I had vasectomy, “Ay nagpakaponka?” (Got yourself castrated, eh?). Or, “Di hindi ka na nakakapagbuhat ng mabigat?” (So I suppose you can’t lift heavy stuff anymore?”). Or “Why???!!!” with a whats-gotten-into-you look. I’ve also had some women tell me, “Bakit hindi si misis?” (Why not your wife?). Or “Masyadong maaga” (It’s too early).

I could cite one hundred and one other reactions, but the above would suffice. In response, I will just have to say that – immodesty intended – I still got my balls, literally and figuratively, I can still carry my big iFontok butt and a 25-kilo LPG tank or a 50-kilo cavan of rice over a considerable distance, I still feel manly as ever, and enjoy those moments of intimacy with my wife, thank you.

And with all the hardships my wife and I have gone through trying to make both ends meet, two kids are enough.