@REP
There is a point in a marriage where both partners believe their spouse is faithful and that they will be together for the rest of their lives. If that actually happens, then the man getting clipped make sense for it is simple operation compared to a woman getting fixed which is a major invasive operation.
Unfortunately, marriages fail for many reason. In the stories you are thinking of, things changed and they divorced. Now the man is clipped, if what he tells his new love is true. His ex-wife is left with the decision of birth control that can fail, getting fixed, or abortions if she gets pregnant.
Or, of course, it is just a simple story device.
In current -- as opposed to historical -- tales, birth control is an issue whenever sex iis.