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Keith Laue is a 23-year-old content creator from Austin, Texas who recently went viral for sharing the details of his vasectomy procedure on TikTok.
For those who don't know, a vasectomy is a surgical procedure for those with male reproductive systems that cuts the supply of sperm to semen. Doctors accomplish this by cutting and sealing the tubes that carry sperm. During the procedure, doctors make a small incision in the scrotum and locate the vas deferens, aka the tubes that carry sperm from the epididymis to the urethra. From there, the doctor pulls the vas deferens out of the scrotum, gives them a little snip-snip, seals the ends, then returns them to the scrotum and stitches everything back up. Voilà!
In Keith's video — which currently has over 3 million views — he breaks down his personal experience getting a vasectomy, including before, after, and during the procedure. First, he had a phone consultation that was "super easy" where they answered any questions he had and set up his appointment for a few weeks following the call.
On the big day, he was given Valium by the clinic to help calm any anxiety he might have. During the vasectomy, he received local anesthesia and was awake for the entire procedure, "but it only lasted 10–15 minutes, so it wasn't that bad."
Following his vasectomy, Keith says he didn't work out for about a week. For the first three days, he took ibuprofen, iced the area, and "didn't really move too much," but after that he was basically back to normal and "good to go."
"Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, I'm more confident in this decision than ever, and I think that, as men, it's time for us to support women and support our weight of birth control," he concludes in the video.
Keith received thousands of comments on his video. Many people praised him for his decision and thanked him for taking on something most men don't even think about.
Lots of people also pointed out just how...*cushy* getting a vasectomy sounds compared to the birth control procedures people with uteruses have to undergo instead. For example, Keith didn't seem to deal with any pushback or disrespectful, condescending questions like those who decide to pursue tubal ligation or a hysterectomy often do.
Also, how about the fact that Keith was given Valium to keep him calm before the procedure AND given local anesthetic for the area so he wouldn't feel any pain during his vasectomy? Pretty different from the treatment you get with an IUD insertion...
BuzzFeed reached out to Keith, who gave more details on why he ultimately decided to pursue a vasectomy: "We live in Texas, where women’s healthcare has been threatened for the past year. My partner had been on birth control since she was 13, tried a bunch of different kinds, and had a range of pretty bad side effects with each one."
Another big reason for Keith was the direct attack on reproductive rights that's happening in the United States right now. On June 24, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion and opening the door for states to pass inhumane laws criminalizing reproductive care.
Texas — where Keith currently lives — has been leading this crusade for a while. One example is the states’s six-week abortion ban — misleadingly nicknamed the “heartbeat bill” despite fetuses not forming a heart until weeks later in development — which passed in September 2021, nearly a year before Roe v. Wade was overturned.
"After the heartbeat bill got passed in Texas, and then the Supreme Court picked up Roe v. Wade, my partner started talking to me about getting a vasectomy, and I had to think about it for a couple of months. I don’t think any guy enjoys thinking about getting his balls cut, but it seemed to be the easiest long-term option for birth control."
"Some additional reasons were that we already have a daughter, and if we're in a place to have more kids, we will happily foster. I have insurance and my partner does not. It's much harder for my partner to get her tubes tied or to get an IUD than it is for me to get a vasectomy. The Supreme Court has made women’s healthcare unsafe and unreliable, and it's better for my partner to not be anxious about it."
Keith decided to share his story on TikTok so others could get the full scope of how vasectomies work from someone with firsthand experience. "Before I got the procedure, I was nervous because I did not know what to expect, and one of the biggest things that brought me comfort was talking to other men who had vasectomies. I made the video to 1) talk about how men can step up to support their partners through birth control, and 2) show that the process is not that scary and is pretty simple for men, especially compared to some of the things women have to go through."
"Especially in light of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, men have the privilege of choice, so we have a responsibility to make choices that support women."
When asked to elaborate on why he believes men should take on more responsibility when it comes to birth control, Keith responded, "In the Roe v. Wade decision, it was implied that there are other cases they want to rule on that have many women worried. My girlfriend has often seen videos of elected officials arguing that an ectopic pregnancy should be re-implanted, which is literally not medically viable. She sees how little people understand women’s healthcare, and how eager politicians are to regulate something they don’t understand."
