On November 19, population control advocates celebrated ‘World Vasectomy Day’. This year a special event was hosted in Mexico by DKT International, National center for Gender Equity and Government of Mexico with the support of IPPF, Marie Stopes, FHI360 and other population control groups.
The highlight of the event was a 24 hour “vasectomy-thon” where physicians and health providers from 48 countries performed vasectomies. It was live telecast. The purpose of the event is ostensibly to raise awareness on increased involvement of men in family planning and encourage discussions around Vasectomy. With 338 doctors involved so far in Mexico the projected number of procedures done by the end of the event were approximately 5000-10,000 vasectomies.
Rebranding Mass Sterilization as a Humanitarian Effort
One wonder if the past has been forgotten too easily. This is not the first time vasectomies are organized on a large scale in an atmosphere of festive gaiety with entertainment and popular attractions.
The gruesome Ernakulam Experiment of India holds the world record for largest number of vasectomies performed on a given population in a given length of time: nearly 70,000 in two months. It was organized with the same kind of fanfare as the new World Vasectomy Day.
World Vasectomy Day is nothing but rebranding of state sponsored Mass Sterilization Programs Indians and other Asians are all too familiar with. One should not be surprised that the population control movement embraces this new holiday. Vasectomies have always been part of the population control agenda.
The event was launched for the first time on Oct 18, 2013 by Jonathan Stack a New York based documentary film maker and Dr. Dough Stein who is popularly known as the “Big Daddy” of Vasectomy. Dr. Stein is a benevolent environmentalist fueled by a mission to reduce the carbon foot print of humanity by offering free vasectomies for people in poor countries, at times with cash incentives.
As noble as his idea of reducing humanity’s carbon footprint sounds, the best solution would’ve been to reduce beef intake, which would be more efficient as a solution to reduce carbon emissions. Maybe a world vasectomy day for cows would have even been more sensational! But it seems Dr. Stein is either a fraud or his intentions are similar to those of notorious eugenicist Margaret Sanger.
When Vasectomy becomes Weapon
Sterilization has always been the weapon of the proponents of eugenics and a tool for genocide. The forced sterilization of Puerto Ricans, sterilization crimes of Third Reich, the secret camps of India, the sterilization of 700,000 men in Rwanda and forced vasectomy for Rohingyas are some of the examples where Sterilization has been used as a weapon against the weak, poor and vulnerable.
The human rights violation associated with sterilization, whether incentive based, or not is horrendous. Blaming the poor for their economic condition and linking ‘aid’ and ‘charity’ to sterilization is the most deceptive and degrading way of handling population issues.
Unresolved issues of Vasectomy
Several studies have associated Vasectomy with serious side effects but the issue is always brushed aside as in the case of abortion-breast cancer link. What is unsettling is the lack of constructive action on the issues of population and the urgency to apply destructive solutions with no regard for the dignity of the human person.
World Vasectomy Day is underrating men as incapable of heroic self-discipline and self-giving. It’s often forgotten that in dealing with issues of population we are dealing with ‘people’ and not cattle. Maybe if the recipient of the aid was cattle there would’ve been far more dignified approach.
While they celebrate World Vasectomy Day let’s remember men killed in Mass Sterilization camps, those deceived by this false solution and those forced to accept it in order to escape their own hunger.
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