Jude Law: The New Face of World Vasectomy Day?

30 OCT 2014 (original Patch post date)

He’s been the sidekick to Sherlock Holmes, the thuggish Dom Hemingway, the one-track Gigolo Joe and the doomed Billy Hanson. In his daily life, actor Jude Law, 41, is soon to be the father of a fifth child.

While he’s no longer “with” the expectant mother, a 23-year-old singer/songwriter, Law is “wholeheartedly committed to raising their child,” according to a statement from the actor’s representative. Law, who has had a fair share of tabloid coverage related to several messy romantic entanglements and drama, has three children with an ex-wife, and one child with a model.

I happened to see this “breaking news” headline about Jude’s love life around the time I was starting to write a post about World Vasectomy Day (WVD), which is today.

WVD is about building awareness of, and dispelling myths about, vasectomy. Other objectives of WVD are to increase access to the procedure and inspire more men to become equal partners with women in the global family planning conversation.

This is the second WVD, but I’m thinking ahead for the organizers: WVD would benefit from a high-profile celebrity taking up the cause, and – with his seed now well-dispersed – perhaps Jude is ready to make a contribution to the family planning discussion by stepping up for a “snip” himself and advocating for basic reproductive health rights worldwide.

WVD was created by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Jonathan Stack and Doug Stein, a urological surgeon who has provided more than 33,000 vasectomies, including for men in Haiti, Kenya and the Philippines.

Last year, 1,000 vasectomies in 25 countries were performed by more than 100 physicians who participated in the first WVD. Leading up to today’s event, organizers again focused on encouraging physicians across the globe to provide free, discounted or low-cost vasectomies.

A focal point today is live-streamed vasectomies from WVD Headquarters in Florida. Additionally, the global vasectomy-thon is making use of broadcast feeds from participating doctors and family planning leaders.

According to a WVD press release, about one-half of the 6.6 million pregnancies in the United States each year are unintended. Worldwide, approximately four in 10 pregnancies are unintended. The average female spends more than three decades of her life trying to avoid an unintended pregnancy.

Dr. Stein says he was inspired to take on this mission by men like George Mbogah, a Kenyan father of two, who scraped together the funds for a 20-hour bus trip for his vasectomy. Stein says Mbogah told him, “I don’t want my wife to suffer another painful pregnancy, nor my children to suffer the bitter taste of poverty.”

So, what say you, Jude?