Early History

In 1884, two doctors, Brissaud and Griffiths, working on rabbits and dogs, observed that by blocking the outlet of the vas deferens duct, sperm could remain in production and not be ejaculated. This was the beginning of the vasectomy procedure. By 1890, Ewing Mears, another physician, was suggesting vasectomy as an alternative to castration. However, it was seen as a voluntary operation, and the Comstock Law, which had been passed in 1873, already forbid the advertising of any form of birth control.

Cumpulsory Sterilization

According to an article published at vasectomy-information.com, Indiana introduced a bill in 1907 authorizing mandatory "sterilization of any confirmed criminal, idiot, rapist or imbecile in a state institution." Twenty-nine other states soon followed suit. In 1927 Virginia's sterilization law was challenged on behalf of an inmate in the state colony for epileptics. Many state's laws were overturned shortly after the first challenge, but about 6,000 patients were sterilized between 1909 and 1924, half of them in California.

Jewish Law

According to Rabbi Mordecai Rottman, of Aish.com, Jewish law forbids undergoing a vasectomy. He sites Maimonides and the Laws of Forbidden Relations, as well as the Code of Jewish Law in Even Ha'ezer, Chapters 5 and 16. The rabbi explains that any mutilation of a limb is an intentional disruption of the Divine Plan and is only permitted under specific halachic guidelines, if it is endangering the person's life. He also said that a vasectomy would be ingratitude for the gift of body from God, as well as a disruption of spiritual growth in accordance with kabbalah.

Lawsuits

Dr. Manny Alvarez, a Fox News blogger, wrote about lawsuits in the case of failed vasectomies on September 10, 2008 in response to a story about a couple in Arkansas who were suing their doctor and hospital because the wife became pregnant and miscarried--despite her husband's vasectomy. He explained that too often patients of a vasectomy translate small risk of pregnancy into no risk of pregnancy. "Failure to communicate this type of information to patients does represent a negligent act on the part of the physician, but if the information is given, then there is a mutual responsibility among doctor and patient of understanding the reality of medicine," he said.

State Legislation

Tennessee's News Channel 5 reported on Mach 2, 2009 that a Tennessee state lawmaker has filed a bill that would regulate vasectomies, by requiring consent from the patient's wife. The bill was proposed amid debate over other legislation that would give the state authority to further regulate abortions. State Representative Karen Camper was quoted as saying, "I think men need to have a healthy discussion about how women are feeling about their rights to have a vasectomy when they want to have one, and cutting off bloodlines, and things like that." The bill called for the public to eventually vote on the vasectomy issue at the polls. As of January 2010, no state required marital consent for a vasectomy operation.