(527) The Unprecedented Number of Google Searches for Vasectomy Following the Overturning of Roe Versus Wade

Abstract

Abstract Introduction On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. This removed constitutional protection for women seeking abortions and introduced uncertainty for couples desiring reproductive autonomy. Currently, each state’s laws determine specific protections or bans for abortion. As a result, many individuals are investigating alternate forms of family planning such as vasectomy. Objective We aimed to characterize the public interest in vasectomy since the overturning of Roe v. Wade and elucidate whether interest varies based on state. Methods We extracted relative search volumes from Google Trends (July 2017 to July 2022) for the keyword “vasectomy”. We compared the relative rates of Google searches for the two weeks preceding and following the Supreme Court decision date of June 24, 2022. The mean rates were compared using a Welch t-test. Lastly, we assessed geographic variations in public interest after the decision by extracting the relative search data separated by state from Google Trends. Results Google searches peaked on June 25, 2022. This was the highest rate of Google searches for vasectomy within the past five years and was about four-fold higher than the average rate over that time (25.9%). There are two other prominent spikes: one on May 4, 2022 to about 60% of the highest rate, and another on May 16, 2019 to about 55% (Figure 1). In the two weeks following the Supreme Court announcement, there was a higher rate of searches for vasectomy (47.3%) compared to searches two weeks prior (17.2%) (P<0.05). Utah was the state with the most Google searches for vasectomy. Idaho, Texas, and North Dakota were the next most common states. The four regions with the lowest search rate were the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York (Figure 2). Conclusions The overturning of Roe v. Wade corresponds with the highest increase in Google searches for vasectomy in the past 5 years with a significant increase in searches the days following. In addition, the two previous spikes in vasectomy searches corresponded to events that threatened access to abortion. The spike in searches in May 2022 happened on the same day the draft of the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade was leaked to the public. The spike in May 2019 correlates with the passing of a strict anti-abortion law in Alabama which received national attention. Interestingly, states with the highest rates of searches are also states with laws banning abortion in place. States with the lowest rates appear to be states with laws in place to protect access to abortion. Urologists should be aware of the unprecedented increase in public interest in vasectomy as it relates to a potential flux of patients seeking counseling for this procedure. Disclosure No