One TikTok user has sparked a huge debate after undergoing a sterilization procedure - and doing a photoshoot to celebrate it.
The TikTok video, posted by Abby Ramsay (@abbysworldsastage) unveiled her decision to undergo sterilization, using a style akin to pregnancy announcements or gender reveals.
The announcement saw 24-year-old Abby excitedly displaying paperwork for her sterilization surgery, coupled with the message: "After about 6 years of trying, I finally found a doctor who listened. This goes out to all the ones who didn’t."
Watch Abby's TikTok below:This declaration ignited varied responses, with numerous viewers questioning why she'd undergone the surgery at such a young age, with some simply asking: "Why tho?", while others claimed that it's "God's plan" for humans to reproduce.
Conversely, a multitude of users hailed Abby’s resolution, applauding her autonomy in choosing her future and what’s right for her body. "The fact that a woman has to fight for her own right not to have children, is ridiculous. Not everyone wants kids and that's OKAY," a supportive comment read.
As reported by Buzzfeed, Abby underwent a combination surgery - including a bilateral salpingectomy - in which doctors extracted her fallopian tubes and an endometrial ablation - which removes a coating of the endometrium, also known as the tissue lining a uterus.
The woman reportedly decided on this combination to stop the odds of her having an unwanted pregnancy, as well as the benefits endometrial ablations can offer people like her who experience heavy periods.
She revealed that she had decided in her teenage years that she did not want to ever have children of her own.
"If you know me, you know that I decided to live a child-free life since I was at least 16. When I turned 19 I decided to start looking into permanent sterilization," she told her followers.
She revealed that some medical professionals refused to perform the surgery, including one doctor who expressed that "no one should ever get a surgery they don't absolutely need".
"Many of these meetings left me frustrated at the least and traumatized at the most. I was infantilized and not listened to and not taken seriously," she said at the time. "Finally, in December I found a doctor who listened to me, and even figured out why I have been in so much pain for years!"
"I know my body, and I know what is right for me, and I want to thank my doctors for recognizing that and working with my needs. We need more doctors like that," she added.
Abby's video opened an important dialogue on autonomy, bodily agency, and the societal norms surrounding procreation, which ultimately comes down to a personal choice which nobody should ever be judged for making.
