Is 26 too young for a childless man to have a vasectomy?

Question

My partner and I don't want children. We've talked about birth control methods and have decided that a vasectomy is the best option weighing the pros and cons for both of us and it's obviously easier for a man to get 'fixed' than it is for a woman due to obvious sexism. Given our ages, we've run into a lot of 'you'll change your mind' crap, I'm curious, how many think that 26 is too young for a man to get vasectomy? If so, what is the right age? He's been wanting one since he was at least 22 if that makes any difference.

Well, at least 22, that's when I met him and one of the first things we talked about was our mutual desire not to have children.

What if I change my mind? Well too bad, I am committed to not having children!

Oh and he says, "Even if I turned retarded and wanted children, I'd want to adopt, there are too many unwanted children in the world to make more."

Answer 1

I got mine done, when I was 21 with no problems. I just told them I already had children.

My close friend got his at age 25. I know several others that got theirs under 25.

The only reason you may have difficulty is because jerky doctors will try to force their own brand of morals on you. The fact is, they are afraid you might try to sue them if you change your mind. It is not uncommon for young people to claim that the doctor, "tricked" them.

I get the "you will change your mind" thing all the time. You will be a social outcast in a lot of circles. Expect to be treated very negatively at work. There are also users on here that will report your question and get it deleted for saying you don't want children. Some people are real jerks about this.

You are what we call "Child free". Look it up, so you will know the difference between "Childless" and "Child free". There is a whole sub-culture of "Child free" people, these days.

I am told that one in five American couples are "Child free".

Answer 2

I had a vasectomy at age 21. I have no children. That was the greatest birthday gift I could ever give myself – The freedom to have all the sex I want. How could I ever regret that? Nope, I can't! I lied and told them that I already had a child. I doubt you will have success unless you do. They don’t ask your wife to come in, or ask for your kids names or anything. They only have some papers that you fill out, that has a blank where you write in the number of kids. You will go to some counseling. In my case it was a group of about 5 other men. Then a two weeks later you get your vasectomy. They try everything to talk you our of it. Keep in mind that I got mine done at a non-profit clinic. There are no laws stating the required age, other than those that state that you must be 18 for elective surgery. The reason that clinics or doctors refuse to perform vasectomies on some men is their personal beliefs, or more often liability. So many men change their mind, and file law suits. What often happens is they go to get a reversal, and find out that they have too much scar tissue because the surgeon did sloppy work. I paid cash for mine. It was $250, back in 1989. The novelty still has not warn off. I think it was the best decision I ever made. Today I am a software developer. I grew up as a ghetto-kid. I never competed colledge until I was 30. How could I have ever done that if I had kids. I could not.

Answer 3

I had a vasectomy at 26. My wife and I had lost 2 babies at 20 weeks which was devastating for us so we went to a specialist to find out why. Anyway to cut a long story short the doctor told us that my wife could conceive anytime but something in her blood would terminate the pregnancy unless we monitored the situation. At best she would carry 1 in 100 babies to full term. We fell pregnant with our boy and monitored the situation until out he popped. about 6 months after our boy was born we decided that it was way too hard to try for more kids so i went to see about being "done". It was extremely hard to find someone to agree to doing it but what i found is that unless you have a medical reason they just wont do the operation. We weighed up the options on me being done or her getting her tubes done but the time factor decided it for us. For her to be done it was a minimum of 6 weeks recovery time and very minimal lifting during that period or if I was done it was 3 days of doing absolutely nothing. 6 weeks vs 3 days was a no brainer. My vasectomy took less than 15 minutes to do and an hour in the recovery unit. I dont regret getting the op but as it turned out we were pregnant again after I was done. We now have two healthy kids and there are no more on the way. Good luck finding someone.
Oh and I'm in Australia. If your not then your medical system is going to be different.

Answer 4

Any age in your 20s is too young. But you have to think about yourself and where you want to be. I want to throw a wrench in your thoughts. What if after a year the two of you decided to part? And some time after that, you meet this other person that wants to have children. Something to think about. No relationship is guaranteed.

There is a positive to getting a vasectomy. They most often can be reversed. However, the percentage of reversal decrease with each year. See your doctor for more details. Also, if you have health insurance, it would pay most of the cost for the vasectomy. Conversely, it will not pay for reversals.

It is a tough decision, but you are the only can choose what is best for you. Good luck. Life has many challenges.

Answer 5

#1 - if this is what you both truly desire, then go for it ... and IF you change your minds later, deal with the consequences. There are alternatives IF you change your mind.

#2 - If you are SO SURE this is what you want, WHY are you asking for anyone's opinion? As long as the Doctor performing the procedure agrees to do it, and feels that age is not an issue, then you don't need anyone else's opinion. Unless you are second guessing your decision. In that case, hold of another year or two ... do what it takes to prevent an unwanted pregnancy, of course, but wait until you are definitely certain this is your final decision.

#3 - Men can have a "reversal" done IF they change their minds far easier than a woman can. No guarantee it'll work, but it can be done.

Best Wishes

Answer 6

If you are absolutely certain you do not want to father children, then vasectomy is a good choice for peace of mind. 26 is not too young to have a vasectomy if you are emotionally mature for your age. It's your body and it should be your choice regardless of your age..

Answer 7

Thank God . Another person refuses to be like the rest of the sheep and decided to not have children. NO. 26 isn't too young. And DON'T fall for the "you'll change your mind" sh*t that most of the idiots (human parots) will say to you. They assume that we're all retarded like them. I was in my teens when I made the decision not to have children and almost two decades later, well, I feel even more strongly about it. He just needs to find a doctor who would be willing to do it. It might be a little hard but there are doctors who will do it.
Hey, just a website for people who don't want to have children - nokidding.net

Answer 8

That really depends upon the person. But since vasectomy is generally irreversible, he should perhaps get some counseling beforehand.Many men decide in their 30s , 40s or even beyond that they want to leave some type of legacy behind and for most of them that means a child or children.

Answer 9

My husband had it done at 26 (a couple of months before turning 27). We knew that we were done having children for a number of reasons. His doctor tried to talk him out of it and even gave him the "what if your wife and children died" talk. He still wanted it done so the doctor obliged.

So long as you are both 100% certain then go for it. If one, or both is unsure then it is best to wait a little longer before deciding.

Good luck with it.

Answer 10

Do you life in California? I see that so often here.

Anyway, yeah go for it. If you want to have kids in the future I believe you can reverse it. Plus, if you can't there's always adoption. No point in using bc pills for the next 30 years or risk having an unwanted child.