Nonreversible Contraceptive Methods: A Comparative Study of Tubal Ligation and Vasectomy in Quebec and France

Laurence Charton, Université Marc Bloch, Strasbourg
Evelyne Lapierre-Adamcyk, Université de Montréal

In France (and in Europe), contrary to Quebec (and to North America), contraceptive sterilization remains fairly rare. Using data from Canada and France retrospective longitudinal surveys (General Social Survey, GSS-2001 for Canada; Étude de l’Histoire familiale – EHF-1999 for France), this paper will examine the relationships between conjugal and family trajectories of French and Quebec cohorts and the recourse to tubal ligation or vasectomy, taking into account various factors like age, education, family situation, number of children, etc…. On one hand, the analysis will allow to identify the role of the individual trajectories in the family behaviour, in particular in the choice of the moment to use contraceptive sterilization. On the other hand, it will allow to verify if contraceptive sterilization influences fertility decisions for a couple or an individual, and eventually fertility levels. Three types of statistical methods will be used: descriptive statistics, logistic regressions and event history analysis.