Hysterectomy Removing the uterus also, like a tubal ligation, leaves a sealed proximal end of each tube. Of course, removal of the ovaries, with a hysterectomy, eliminates the source of egg release. Removal of the ovaries, oophorectomy , is surgical menopause as it pertains to fertility. From the brutal and unthinkable practice of infanticide in less sophisticated times to the ideal of 2.3 children per family in modern times, there has always been a demand for methods to stop a couple from reproducing. What most people seldom think about, however, is the difference between contraception and sterilization.
Contraception is any method that reversably interferes with a couple's opportunity to conceive.
It doesn't eliminate the ability to conceive, however, which is what sterilization is designed to do. Contraception is temporary, sterilization should be considered permanent. Contraception involves the use of reversible techniques, like the birth control pill , the diaphragm, the IUD, condoms, spermicide, hormone shots and implants , and of course abstinence. Sterilization, on the other hand, puts up a permanent barrier to sperm meeting egg, such as tubal ligation, hysterectomy , and vasectomy. All of these methods have had a complicated history to get where they are today, and there have been many methods that have been discarded throughout history.