Too often, conversations about reproductive health target women without also assigning responsibility to their male partners.  World Vasectomy Day seeks to confront this issue, encouraging men to adopt active roles in family planning.

“A celebration of men around the world who are stepping up for their partners, their families and their future,” the program is “the largest male-focused family planning event in history,” according to its website. Headquartered in Mexico City for 2017, World Vasectomy Day activities have previously taken place in Nairobi, Kenya, and Bali, Indonesia.

Organizers held a “Vasectomiathon” Nov. 16-17 which included, through digital communication, about 1,200 health practitioners in more than 50 nations. Their campaign re-frames an often-stigmatized and private reproductive health choice as a public and “heroic decision [men can make] to care for their families, communities and our planet.”

Organizers advertised live vasectomies and film screenings at both the Vasectomiathon and the actual World Vasectomy Day celebration on Nov. 19. The public can attend Sunday’s event in Mexico City.

Want to join this important, norm-defying conversation from afar?  Check out the event livestream and Facebook page!

Photo courtesy of World Vasectomy Day.

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