My Womb, a part of me I do not own.

As a young woman of this current generation, I feel that women are being stripped of their basic human rights due to the government’s idealistic views on the role of being a woman and what that entails, i.e. being a mother. Even if this is something we have no interest in being. We are robbed of ownership over our own bodies… my right to decide that I do not want to have the parts of me that can reproduce are pushed to the side at every turn… allow me to expand.

Spitting straight facts when it comes to sterilisation surgery…

As the NHS currently stands there are many restrictions on the journey to being considered for female sterilisation surgery, these can be found on the NHS website. You would first have to speak to your GP, and if they deemed you acceptable for the surgery, they would then refer you to a counsellor to talk through why you want the surgery (…to not have children?). However in many cases the GP will not even go this far, as they didn’t with me.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/contraception/female-sterilisation/?tabname=which-is-best-for-me

After going through counselling it is recommended that you seek your partners permission to go ahead with the surgery… and it is important that they have agreed to your procedure. The website that was previously referred states this is not a legal requirement, though why this has to be stated is beyond me, of course you should talk to your partner… but we should NOT need permission for a surgery. Many women’s individual experiences have shown from this article that it is a lot more difficult to get the procedure without a partners blessing. This is something I find highly shocking. In the 21st century, women are still not able to make their own choices for their own bodies?…

www.nhs.uk/conditions/contraception/female-sterilisation/?tabname=which-is-best-for-me

Your GP can even refuse to refer you if they believe it is not in your best interest to have the surgery, for me my GP refused me on the basis of her personal opinion that I would change my mind in the future, and that I am ‘far too young’ to make that decision. I have been seeking this operation since I turned 18, and now as a 22 year old woman I still feel the same way. My body is my own. And so is my mind. Who is my GP to tell me otherwise? I am a victim of a system that has never supported my wishes. Even with private healthcare, a victim of this, where I am ignored or told I don’t know what I want. And I am offended. Outraged that I am stripped of this choice.

Contraception, you say?

Of course, contraception is an option to which my GP or other professionals I have seen try to sway me towards, but I have yet to have a good experience with this option. Many failed attempts at different contraceptives have led me to suffer depression, uncomfortable weight gain and extreme skin complaints. A bad run in with the hormonal injection even left me to bleed for 6 months. As someone with an already weak immune system and anaemia it took me a very long time to recover after this. So contraception is not an easy option to consider taking again. The point i want to draw attention to here is that since I do not want children, why should it be an option I have to take?
Contraceptives can take their toll on the body and mind in a negative way and are not sustainable for a woman’s life, especially one where the woman has no desire to reproduce. The thought of accidentally falling pregnant scares me more than anything. And I will always have the fear of being intimate with my partner, the person I love, for fear of falling pregnant. This is so very wrong, and I live for the day I don’t have to live with this constant worry on my mind.

What can we do?

Our choices are snatched away from us at every turn.
And our minds are led to believe we don’t know what is best for us.
So, how will women be granted freedom over their own bodies?
By speaking out. Raising awareness. Not giving up… I return to my doctors every few months with the same request, and will continue to do so. I am done with being told that other people know what is best for me. I know my own mind. And my body is my own. And I will not be silenced. And neither should you.
If you have connected with this in any way, please do leave a comment.
We are not alone in this fight to have true ownership over our bodies.