美国国家公共电台 NPR March Madness Vasectomies Encourage Guys To Take One For The Team

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

March Madness, a college basketball tournament, is primetime for marketing¹ to men - trucks, beer, pizza and vasectomies. From KQED in San Francisco, April Dembosky has the story.

APRIL DEMBOSKY, BYLINE²: About eight years ago, a urology clinic in Oregon ran a promotion³ touting⁴ the benefits of scheduling a vasectomy in March.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: You go in for a little snip⁵, snip and come out with doctor's orders to sit back and watch nonstop basketball.

DEMBOSKY: Lots of copycats followed. Now, a sports radio show in D.C. has an annual Vasectomy Madness contest.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: 106.7 The Fan.

DEMBOSKY: The prize? A free vasectomy.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: All right. Let's bring in our next contestant⁶. Believe it's Abe (ph) from Warrenton, Va.

DEMBOSKY: Three guys come on the air to make their case for getting snipped⁷. And listeners vote on their favorite. The gentlemen's agreement here is first names only. There's Abe.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ABE: I've got three kids right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: OK.

ABE: Another one - surprise - due in July.

DEMBOSKY: There's Mike (ph), also has four kids.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MIKE: My wife and I have had enough. We need help to stop the flow.

DEMBOSKY: And there's Charles.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHARLES: Four kids, three different women.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Oh.

DEMBOSKY: A lot of men might say it takes a creative deal like this to let a doctor take a scalpel to their nether⁸ regions. Vasectomy rates are low. About 5 percent of men in the U.S. have had one for birth control. And that's compared to 20 percent of women who've had a sterilization⁹ procedure, even though women's surgery is more invasive and more expensive.

HEATHER: Thank you for calling the Turek clinic. This is Heather (ph) speaking.

DEMBOSKY: Dr. Paul Turek has a urology clinic in San Francisco. He sees an uptick in vasectomy visits during March Madness. He's also noticed more guys coming in together.

PAUL TUREK: So one group came in from a tech company in a limousine¹⁰.

DEMBOSKY: Last year, five old college buddies¹¹ scheduled a reunion in March. They live all over the U.S. now. And one of them had this great idea - a group vasectomy.

TUREK: So I gave them a deal. I closed the doors. We had sports TV on. They were having fun.

DEMBOSKY: Fist bumps, high fives as each guy returned to the waiting room. Then they hobbled back to their hotel to make bets and yell at the TV. What was interesting to Dr. Turek was the guys on this bro weekend recovered faster than his typical patient.

TUREK: They had no complaints. They took fewer pain pills. It was the best anesthesia having their buddies with them.

DEMBOSKY: Turek gives all his vasectomy patients a certificate of honor...

TUREK: That says for uncommon¹² bravery and meritorious¹³ performance because it is taking one hit to the jewels.

DEMBOSKY: There is another theory about why vasectomies aren't more popular - the cost. The Affordable¹⁴ Care Act requires insurers to cover contraceptives without charging out-of-pocket costs but vasectomy wasn't included. That's because under the rule, birth control was considered a women's health service.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Would your insurance cover this if you did not win the contest?

DEMBOSKY: Here's Charles from the free vasectomy contest.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHARLES: No. They'd cover a portion. But I still have to pay my deductible which is a thousand bucks¹⁵.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Which is high.

DEMBOSKY: Twelve thousand people signed a petition last year asking federal regulators to cover vasectomies without cost sharing. But when the Trump¹⁶ administration took over, advocates were basically told to stop trying. Now they worry Trump's new health officials will get rid of the contraceptive mandate¹⁷ altogether, even for women.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: The winner is...

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Drum roll.

(SOUNDBITE OF DRUMROLL)

DEMBOSKY: So for now, that leaves guys like Charles, Mike and Abe vying¹⁸ for a free March Madness vasectomy.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: A stunning¹⁹ upset - Abe.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Abe.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Honest Abe.

DEMBOSKY: His free vasectomy, by the way, comes with a catch. Abe has to let one of the sportscasters come to his appointment to broadcast a play-by-play. For NPR News, I'm April Dembosky.

MCEVERS: This story's part of a reporting partnership²⁰ with NPR, KQED and Kaiser Health News.

(SOUNDBITE OF FRANCIS BEBEY SONG, "TIERS MONDE")

1 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

4 touting   

v.兜售( tout的现在分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• He's been touting his novel around publishers for years. 他几年来一直到处找出版商兜售自己的小说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Technology industry leaders are touting cars as a hot area for growth. 科技产业领袖吹捧为增长热点地区的汽车。 来自互联网

5 snip   

n.便宜货，廉价货，剪，剪断

参考例句：

• He has now begun to snip away at the piece of paper.现在他已经开始剪这张纸。
• The beautifully made briefcase is a snip at £74.25.这个做工精美的公文包售价才74.25英镑，可谓物美价廉。

6 contestant   

n.竞争者，参加竞赛者

参考例句：

• The company will furnish each contestant with a free ticket.公司将为每个参赛者免费提供一张票。
• The personal appearance and interview of the contestant is another count.参加比赛者的个人仪表和谈话也是一项。

7 snipped   

v.剪( snip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He snipped off the corner of the packet. 他将包的一角剪了下来。 来自辞典例句
• The police officer snipped the tape and untied the hostage. 警方把胶带剪断，松绑了人质。 来自互联网

8 nether   

adj.下部的，下面的；n.阴间；下层社会

参考例句：

• This terracotta army well represents his ambition yet to be realized in the nether-world.这一批兵马俑很可能代表他死后也要去实现的雄心。
• He was escorted back to the nether regions of Main Street.他被护送回中央大道南面的地方。

9 sterilization   

n.杀菌，绝育；灭菌

参考例句：

• Sterilization by filtration is subject to one major theoretical limitation. 过滤灭菌具有一个理论上的局限性。 来自辞典例句
• Sterilization is a treatment that frees the treated object of all living organisms. 灭菌处理是从处理对象排除一切生活的生物。 来自辞典例句

10 limousine   

n.豪华轿车

参考例句：

• A chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady.司机为这个高贵的女士打开了豪华轿车的车门。
• We arrived in fine style in a hired limousine.我们很气派地乘坐出租的豪华汽车到达那里。

11 buddies   

n.密友( buddy的名词复数 )；同伴；弟兄；（用于称呼男子，常带怒气）家伙v.（如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般）交往( buddy的第三人称单数 )；做朋友；亲近（…）；伴护艾滋病人

参考例句：

• We became great buddies. 我们成了非常好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
• The two of them have become great buddies. 他们俩成了要好的朋友。 来自辞典例句

12 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

13 meritorious   

adj.值得赞赏的

参考例句：

• He wrote a meritorious theme about his visit to the cotton mill.他写了一篇关于参观棉纺织厂的有价值的论文。
• He was praised for his meritorious service.他由于出色地工作而受到称赞。

14 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

15 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

17 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

18 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

19 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

20 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。