Planned Parenthood offers vasectomies in Michigan as abortion access
drops
[January 22, 2026]
By ELI NEWMAN/Bridge Michigan
Citing an increased demand for “permanent birth control” since the US
Supreme Court overturned abortion access across the country, Planned
Parenthood of Michigan will now offer vasectomy services to its
patients.
The minor surgery is being offered at Planned Parenthood of Michigan’s
Irwin/Martin health center in Grand Rapids, with more locations expected
to come online throughout the year. Planned Parenthood maintains 10
brick-and-mortar clinics in Michigan and a statewide telehealth program.
The Michigan chapter ceased its vasectomy operations about a decade ago,
officials said, but a newfound need has pushed the organization to
resume its efforts.
“The demand is real and present,” Dr. Kate Starr, chief medical officer
at Planned Parenthood of Michigan, told Bridge Michigan. “Patients and
their partners are looking for ways to control their lives and their
families, and vasectomy is one of the ways in which they can do that.”
The surgery will be available to adults 21 and older and costs $800
without insurance coverage, including a $100 consultation fee. Planned
Parenthood of Michigan is in-network for many health plans.
“There are patients in the state of Michigan whose only option has been
being on a long wait list for a hospital-based procedure six to eight
months from now,” Starr said. “We are offering access to folks who want
vasectomy and also likely need reasonably priced care.”
Planned Parenthood of Michigan, which serves about 50,000 patients each
year, and its national counterpart are facing funding cuts from the
Trump administration. Millions of dollars tied to Title X family
planning were restored in December after being withheld for months.
Paula Thornton Greear, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of
Michigan, said despite “significant challenges” last year, when clinics
closed throughout the state leaving many rural areas without in-person
services, vasectomy demand is rising.
“As the attacks on sexual and reproductive health continue to grow
nationwide, our resolve only deepens,” Thornton Greear said in a
statement. “Everyone deserves the power to decide if, when, and how to
grow their family, and our commitment to helping Michiganders exercise
that right is unwavering.”
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 Research indicates a rapid rise in
permanent contraception nationwide following the Supreme Court’s
2022 Dobbs v. Women’s Health Organization decision, even in states
that preserved abortion access. With that ruling, the court
overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the federal constitutional right
to abortion and returning authority to the states.
Dobbs effect
In the months following the Dobbs decision, a court blocked a 1931
state law that criminalized abortion in Michigan from taking effect.
Voters later approved an amendment enshrining abortion rights into
the state constitution. Still, the prospect of limited reproductive
medical services had an observable impact.
A study published by the American Urological Association that
analyzed a single health system in Michigan found there was a 150%
rise in vasectomy consultations and a 160% increase in vasectomy
volume in the six months following the Dobbs ruling.
About 1 in 10 adult men in America have had a procedure resulting in
sterilization, like a vasectomy, according to a 2024 survey
conducted by the health policy research organization KFF.
Planned Parenthood of Michigan reports a 40% increase of male
patients seeking non-vasectomy services like gender-affirming care
and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment since 2023,
having served 8,500 men and gender-diverse individuals last year.
A vasectomy can be done in less than an hour and without general
anesthesia. Patients typically return home later that day, Starr
said.
Planned Parenthood of Michigan requires two appointments for the
service — clinics will have an initial consultation before the
“no-scapel” vasectomy surgery, a minimally invasive procedure where
the tube that carries semen in the scrotum is severed.
While the procedure can sometimes be reversed by a urologist,
Planned Parenthood and many physicians warn of lower pregnancy
success rates after a reversal and do not recommend vasectomies for
people who may want children in the future.
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