Revenge & Karma·
STERILIZATION DENIAL BACKFIRE
An under-25 patient seeks sterilization in California; a doctor denies the request with disputed reasons, prompting a formal board review and a tense, unresolved dispute over patient autonomy.
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A doctor refused a 21-year-old's sterilization request, then put the reason in writing, and a year later the medical board said the doctor had been found "accountable for negligence."
The poster had gone to an OB-GYN in California about a year earlier asking for sterilization. They were 21, had no boyfriend, no kids, were covered by Medicaid, and lived with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which they described as "a collagen disorder" that can make having children dangerous.
The answer was no.
When the poster asked the doctor to document the refusal in the chart, she agreed. According to the poster, the chart listed reasons including that the patient had no kids, no boyfriend, and was healthy.
The visit got stranger from there. The doctor also gave two explanations the poster later quoted as false: that the condition "does not cause risk for pregnancy because there is no collagen in the uterus," and that "90% of women under 25 who get sterilization regret it."
The poster left without the procedure.
Some time later, another person pointed out something the poster says they had not known: under Medicaid rules, women over 21 can get sterilized without issue, and it is illegal to refuse for reasons like age or not having children. With that information, the poster sent the doctor's letter to the medical board.
Then came the long wait.
About a year later, the poster received a letter back. The medical board said it had found the doctor "accountable for negligence" and added, "Doctors reported for negligence will get their license revoked." The board said it would continue the case and keep notifying the poster.
In an edit, the poster added an update of their own. They said they are sterilized now, after later getting a hysterectomy because they developed pelvic organ prolapse. They closed the loop with a dry jab at the earlier claim about collagen: "so much for no collagen in the uterus lol," and said they are doing great now.