ABSTRACT
Vasectomy has been available throughout much of the world for decades, and it has become a major family planning method in some countries. By 1991, vasectomy had been chosen by approximately 41.5 million couples worldwide (Liskin, Benoit, & Blackburn, 1992). About three fourths of vasectomy users are concentrated in China and India, where government programs have long supported the method. In China, for example, an estimated 30.4 million men underwent vasectomies between 1971 and 1981; this method accounted for 11% of all contraceptive use in 1981, a proportion exceeded only by the proportions of couples using the intrauterine device (IUD; 42%) or female sterilization (38%) (Xu, 1993).
