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OPINION: Is Husband’s Permission Necessary to Opt for Birth Control Implants?

by Mayuri Rajvanshi | January 4, 2019

Just the other day while reading the newspaper, I came across a local story. A differently abled man abandoned his wife because she underwent a family planning procedure without his consent. The poverty stricken couple is already raising a family of six children, struggling extremely hard to meet their daily needs. Family planning procedures such as vasectomy, tubectomy, and birth control implants have been made free by the Government of India in a bid to help control the population. The law here doesn’t require a woman to seek her husband’s permission in order to opt for birth control measures. In spite of persistent attempts by health care officials to pacify him, the man in question left his wife crying at the hospital, for he cannot stand the thought of not having any more children.

This brings me back to the original question: do women really need to ask for their husbands’ permission to opt for birth control implants?

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Do Women Need Husband’s Permission To Opt for Birth Control Implants?

Permission? No. Advice? Yes. And not just wives, even husbands who opt for vasectomy should discuss it first with the wife and proceed only thereafter. Creating a new life is a joint effort (takes a bit more of effort and sacrifices on the woman’s part though) and the decision has to be mutual.

But everything in life isn’t this black and white. Given the effects of patriarchy, lack of awareness, and extreme religious indoctrination, there are several (not all) men who equate reproducing with machoism. If it were men getting pregnant and dealing with everything from morning sickness to labor pains, things would be way different. There wouldn’t be any need to advocate for the right to birth control implants but unfortunately, we are left alone to deal with this sh**.

Even if the law doesn’t require the husband’s permission, it is kind of
blasphemy in several countries for a woman to override husband’s decision and opt for family planning. And the results are bad, like the one I mentioned in the introduction of this article.

So what is the solution? Not as easy as it sounds, humongous efforts are needed to first sensitize men towards the pain, complications, and problems women face due to multiple pregnancies. Yes, a woman’s body is designed to do miraculous things like giving birth, but it isn’t as easy as popping out a tart. And there’s fine line between honoring the miraculous gift and abusing it. A woman isn’t just a vessel meant for child bearing. She is a living person and has full right to her own body. The decision to give birth or not has to be hers. End of story!

What is your take on the need to seek husband’s permission to opt for birth control implants? Comment below.

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