The Biden-Harris administration is putting millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars toward a research project that seeks to address racial, ethnic and income-based differences in vasectomy knowledge.
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine professor Dr. Sonya Borrero is receiving over $1.5 million from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop and assess the impact of a “patient-facing web-based decision aid to support high-quality vasectomy decisions.” The initiative specifically seeks to redress “racial/ethnic and income-based differences in vasectomy knowledge and access,” with the September 2023 NIH grant claiming “men of color and low-income men are far less likely to rely on vasectomy than white men and those with higher incomes.”
The grant also suggests a “vasectomy decision support tool” could help reduce poverty among black, Latino and low-income men as they are more likely to be involved in unwanted pregnancies.
Borrero’s research initiative consists of the development of the “decision support tool,” a 750-person study testing its effect on “the quality of vasectomy decision making,” and the identification of barriers that cause individuals not to get the procedure.
This does not seem like a great use of taxpayer dollars… https://t.co/jGJf1mwuKq
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 22, 2024
Vasectomies involve the cutting and sealing of a man’s vas deferens — the coiled tube that transports sperm from the testes to the urethra. The surgery can potentially create pain, bleeding and hematoma.
In the early 1900s vasectomies were a popular tool for eugenicists, according to Arizona State University’s Embryo Project Encyclopedia: “In the US, into the early 1900s, proponents of eugenics, the belief that human populations can be made better by selecting for so-called desirable traits, used the procedure to forcibly sterilize people whom they deemed undesirable.”
Prior to the vasectomy knowledge grant, Borrero had received over $3 million from the NIH for the development of MyDecision/MiDecisión — a “patient-centered, web-based decision aid” that informs English and Spanish-speaking users about tubal sterilization. Tubal sterilization, commonly referred to as “getting your tubes tied,” is a surgical procedure in which a woman’s fallopian tubes are cut, blocked or sealed to prevent pregnancy.
Borrero leads the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s Center for Innovative Research on Gender Health Equity, which describes itself as “a multidisciplinary community of scholars who produce and translate research focused on sexual and reproductive health, with particular attention to marginalized populations.” In August 2023 she retweeted an X post praising Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro for ending state funding for anti-abortion pregnancy support service Real Alternatives.
The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the NIH and Borrero did not respond to requests for comment.
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