Male Birth Control Methods

For decades there has been a contraceptive pill for women. Women are the gender known for having responsibility over contraception. Wouldn't it be great if men held the responsibility and they were the ones saying, "I'm on the pill?" This could be possible with the 'male pill' that is being researched around the world today.

Women have many choices for birth control such as pills, patches, injections, IUDs, and rings. For men, however, there are only two contraceptive choices; they can either use condoms or get a vasectomy. Condoms tend to be unreliable because they can break easily thus allowing a pregnancy to occur. Vasectomy on the other side of the scale is quite reliable and safe, however it is also permanent. Any man that may wish to have children later in his life could not use this method. In an attempt to make more choices available for men, a new male pill is being developed and studied. New developments in male birth control have been seen as far back as the 70's, but due to the lack of a market they have not researched it extensively until now. Recent studies show that men are involved in the family planning and that they want to have responsibility in birth control. One study showed that 80% of men would put this new pill in the top three of their birth control choices.

So what is being done about developing this new pill for men? Researchers have been using progestins and testosterone for hormonal fertility control. However, the problem with this is that these hormones are not yet effective in pill form. Rather, they have been studied in other forms such as a patch, implant, or injection. The so-called 'male pill' will target testosterone, a hormone made in the testes that stimulates sperm production (Wall Street Journal). The problem with suppressing the amount of testosterone in the body is that it will lead to a loss of libido, mood swings, lethargy, sexual dysfunction, and a loss of muscle strength. With these side effects, no man would want to take this pill. So for this pill to work properly without these kind of side effects it would have to be accompanied by a method of retaining testosterone levels in the bloodstream. Some researchers are using a dose of the hormone progestin to turn off sperm production, while long-acting testosterone undecanoate is injected or implanted to keep the testosterone levels within the normal range (Wall Street Journal). In Australia, for example, the men were injected every three months with progestin, and then every four months they received a small testosterone implant under the skin of the belly. Before this can go on the market, which isn't going to be for at least another five years, further research needs to be done to ensure that the added testosterone is not going to lead to prostate problems. Ideally, researches would like the birth control to be in pill form so that it involves only rare visits to the doctor and no injections.

These hormone-based trials are being conducted all over the world, but the big question is still whether or not this product will market. Pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to invest in fear that no one will want to buy. Another concern with the pill is whether or not men are responsible enough and whether they should be trusted to take the pill every day. Women are especially leery about allowing men to control their fertility and to prevent pregnancy. However on the other hand, Quentin Brown, a contractor participating in a hormone-based trial in Los Angeles, says that, "Our society has decided to hold men financially responsible for their fertility, so men should have as many options as possible to act responsibly." An increasing number men want to have more control over their fertility and more methods should be available to allow them to do so. Some women intend to have unplanned pregnancies and this new pill would protect men from hearing, "I'm pregnant and it's yours" from the girl he never intended to marry. More studies will be conducted in the future to see if men are willing to take this hormone-based pill. If the studies show positive results, more companies may invest in the research for it. If everything goes well, five years down the road, men as well as women, will be taking a pill every day as their primary birth control method.

Works Cited

"Contraception; Large clinical trial launched to test "male pill" in 14 European centers." Health and Medicine Week. Feb 2004: 208

"Drug Makers Launch Joint Trials In Quest for Elusive Male Pill". The Wall Street Journal January 2004: D.2

Gifford, Bill. "Shouldn't You Be on the Pill?" Men's Health, May 2003.

Hollander, Dore. "Inching Toward A Male Method". Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Volume 35, Number 6 (Nov/Dec 2003): 245

"Myths and Realities". 9 February 2004 http://www.malecontraceptives.org/myths_frame.htm

Ripley, Amanda. "At last, the pill for men." Time October 2003: 61