When you think of vasectomies, you think of silver-streaked, 40-something dads with 2.5 kids. But plenty of guys in their 20s and 30s undergo the snip — the safe, quick, relatively painless and permanent form of birth control for men. (Compare it to the more common tubal ligation that women undergo, which is more invasive, more expensive, more painful, and requires more downtime.) We spoke with several urologists about the common reasons younger men have the hot water turned off:

1. “I just don’t trust girls to take their pills or get their shots on time and I don’t like condoms. My friend got a girl pregnant when a condom slipped off and he’ll be paying child support for the next 18 years because she would not get an abortion. I don’t think I will ever want kids, but if I ever meet the right girl, we will either adopt or I will take my chances with a reversal.”
2. “I just don’t want to bring a kid into the world the way it is. There are too many problems and I don’t see the world situation improving.”
3. “I just don’t like kids, and neither does my girlfriend. My brother has 3 kids and I never envy him. I can come and go as I please, travel, and spend my money on my hobbies and toys. If I ever change my mind, we can adopt or I can take my chances with a reversal. But right now a pregnancy would be more of a problem that would be failure of a reversal in the future.”
4. “I have bipolar disorder [or any other hereditary disease], as did my mother, and I just don’t want to pass that on, so if I ever want kids, I’ll try adoption.”
5. “My girlfriend has had brittle diabetes since she was a child and pregnancy would be very risky for her. She cannot take hormones, an IUD was very uncomfortable, and we both hate condoms.”
6. “My partner is older and already has 2 kids and we have our hands full with them. She could get her tubes tied, but vasectomy is so much easier.”
7. “My girlfriend and I are quite spontaneous just not very careful. She got pregnant one night when we both drank too much and thought we did not need a condom because it was the wrong time of month. Then she got pregnant again when she took antibiotics while on birth control pills (she forgot she wasn’t supposed to). That’s 2 abortions! Not very fun and quite expensive, especially for someone with my income. So we want something we can depend on.”
8. “I’m an environmentalist concerned with the big problem of overpopulation and finite resources. Not producing another polluting burden on the earth is one of the best things I can do for the planet. If I eventually want kids, I’ll adopt.”
9. “I knew I never wanted to become a parent, and a vasectomy was the most permanent, most foolproof way of ensuring I would not become a parent accidentally.  Intellectually, I know that parenthood makes some people happy, much the same way I know that being a chef makes some people happy.  I have exactly zero desire to be a chef, and exactly zero desire to be a parent.  The difference is, a forgotten pill or ripped condom doesn’t run the risk of turning me into a chef in nine months. “
10. “I had one unintended child with a girl I had a short-term relationship with when the condom failed. Now I have to pay child support but she challenges my visitation rights all the time. It’s been difficult. I just don’t want to repeat the scenario. I’ve had my semen stored should I change my mind.”
11. “We had kids young and we don’t want any more. We want our lives back some day!”

If there were a male birth control pill,
Could Men Be Trusted to Take It?