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Trial For The Male Pill Shows No Side-effects

Blahbooboo3 writes "Men concerned about contraception may soon be able to use the male equivalent of the Pill, without the potential side-effects of a drug based on altering the balance of sex hormones. The drug, called Adjudin, works by disrupting the interaction that takes place in the testicles between immature sperm cells and the nurse cells responsible for nurturing sperm to maturity. The germ cells need to adhere to the nurse cells for sperm to properly develop, and the drug prevents this bond from forming. It looks like it will be a gel patch type of applicator."

261 comments

  1. Totally pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    This may well be the most irrelevant Slashdot story ever. No one who reads this site is in any position to use this pill. You can't get your hand pregnant.

    1. Re:Totally pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yes, but it is possible to get your sister pregnant.

    2. Re:Totally pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      If you cohabitate with your hand in California for long enough it can take up to half of your assets.

    3. Re:Totally pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stringing up 1000 LEDs in your bedroom will be safer and far more effective than this pill.

    4. Re:Totally pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are sadly correct. I wrote software for a local doctors office that records a survey from a new patient's initial visit. Of the unmarried men between the ages of 25 and 35, over 90% are not having sex where not having sex is defined as not having had sex with more than two partners in their lifetime and have also not had sex in the previous two years. It's over 90%! That's over 90% that have absolutely no use for this product.

      As someone that was that age in a different time, I really feel sorry for you guys. Women just aren't interested in sex like they used to be.

    5. Re:Totally pointless by illegalcortex · · Score: 1

      Women just aren't interested in sex like they used to be.

      Maybe it's just that as opposed to the 60s, 70s and 80s, they aren't baked out of their gourds and unaware of the rampant STDs they'll be exposed to, many of which can later make them sterile or, worse, give them cancer.

      Or maybe it's just me.

    6. Re:Totally pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      You can't get your hand pregnant.
      Well, statistically you're safer by taking preventative steps.

      It's one of those "it'll never happen to me" things.

      Until boom, you're changing Palmala's diapers.

      Better safe than sorry, after all.
    7. Re:Totally pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Women love sex, in my experience, just as much as they ever have. What's happening is this: very few guys are getting a huge amount of action, while lots of other guys are dependent on essentially random chance.

      The key is to not take offense at rejection, and to not read anything personal into failing to engage a woman's attention. It sounds hard-hearted, but it's not. Men approach, women select; that's how the game works. And yes, it is a game. Treat it as such, learn how to be somewhat charming (in speech, appearance, and so forth), and you'll go far.

    8. Re:Totally pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
      > As someone that was that age in a different time, I really feel sorry for you guys. Women just aren't interested in sex like they used to be.

      Neither are us men. Somewhere over 10 years and counting. Og simple man. Og feel horny? Og make fap fap until feeling go away. Og get back to cave and work. Scratchum HTML in cave wall with stick. Tribal leader give Og green paper. Og trade green paper for hunk of cows, sheep, and pigs that were felled by mighty hunter tribe know only as Trader Joe. Og cook-um own food. Brew-um own beer. Wank-um own weener.

      What for Og need woman? Why buy or rent cow when beer is free?
      What for woman need Og? Why buy pig when all she want is sausage?

      Og and woman not need each other. Both better off for it.

    9. Re:Totally pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Stop it, Dad!!! You're embarrassing me!

    10. Re:Totally pointless by Shads · · Score: 1

      Bah. A lot of geeks like myself have very good sex lives, it's just mastering the art of finding the geek/gamer girl to hang out with, they appreciate your idiosyncrasies.

      That being said, I'd much rather have a pill to take that a gel patch. Just my .02 though.

      --
      Shadus
    11. Re:Totally pointless by Shads · · Score: 2, Insightful

      ...and damn not being able to edit your posts.

      I think the only geeks who really have much trouble getting laid are either those who are so absorbed in particular technologies they don't look or alternately those who don't bathe regularly. Geeks tend to make pretty good money, geeks tend to drive pretty nice cars, geeks tend to work smarter not harder and thus clean as they go (except the desk where they work which frequently resembles a trash heap.) Geeks are a hell of good catch for most women (this being subject to cleanliness & the geek paying enough attention to notice interested women in the FIRST place.)

      --
      Shadus
    12. Re:Totally pointless by Shads · · Score: 1

      .... I just re-read this post, not having sex is defined as "not having sex with more than two partners AND not having sex in previous two years" dude, I know one person who would qualify as "not having sex" by that definition. I had two sexual partners before I was 14. Most all of the men I know are in the ~5-~40 range somewhere... and not on the lower end of the range. I don't think I can name ANY women who fall into that definition. [I'm presently 29 years old.]

      --
      Shadus
    13. Re:Totally pointless by cayenne8 · · Score: 1
      "Maybe it's just that as opposed to the 60s, 70s and 80s, they aren't baked out of their gourds and unaware of the rampant STDs they'll be exposed to..."

      You know..it was funny, when I read the headline the FIRST thing I thought of was....Wow, now if only they could come up with a pill to cure AIDS....talk about the sexual revolution coming around again!!!

      I mean...if you can't get laid they day they cure aids....something is wrong.

      I also would see that the marriage rate go down, and divorce go up.....since there would no longer be a real to just saddle yourself with one woman the rest of your life (unless you DO want to have kids).....

      Wow..talk about a dream....sex without fear of having a kid combined with not having fear of a disease you couldn't cure or would kill you.

      I think the day that happens...I'll invest in a singles bar again...Oh Happy Day!!

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    14. Re:Totally pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nice work picking-up the AND. Slashdot readers are smarter than most people. On the survey we found that we had to separate it into two separate questions for the readers to understand it.

      > Most all of the men I know are in the ~5-~40 range

      And you believe their ridiculous boasts? I got the facts from what they've told their doctor (ummm, I wonder if I've committed a HIPPA violation...thank god for AC!), and the number is over 90%. Speaking personally from friends, most of the guys I'm friends with are in age range from 32 to 38 years old, and I don't know a one of them that's had sex in the past decade or so. I know because I have to listen to them complain. Of course I'm complaining with them. I first had sex in 1979 and had eleven partners between then and 1994. Since then the number is zero. That's right, over 12 years without. Girls just aren't interested in sex any more. Is it the overexposure to sex or hormones? We may never know but something is wrong.

    15. Re:Totally pointless by bersl2 · · Score: 1

      Hey, some of us are reclusive geeks who do bathe, who do know what we're missing, and who are all the more miserable and self-deprecating because of it, you insensitive clod!

      (I can't help it: I know I'm going to write angsty posts like this every time the subject comes up, and you're the unlucky sonuvabitch who gets it this time. Sorry.)

    16. Re:Totally pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know firsthand that normal, average women in their late 20s-30s (your demographic also) are so hot to trot it's not funny. No offense, but I strongly suspect the problem isn't the women. It's probably you.

      Either that, or your location. Try moving to a pleasant city outside the Bible belt. I know from much experience that the women of Seattle are just utterly fabulous - I'm acquainted with a whole crew of them who regularly travel up here to Vancouver, B.C. to party it up and meet guys. They harbour quaint notions about Canadians, like we have this sort of masculine, woodsy knowledge or whatever. I'm not complaining, because those girls sure like to fuck. The locals are good, too. Lots and LOTS of sexually active women around who are smart, funny, and nice.

    17. Re:Totally pointless by illegalcortex · · Score: 1

      I've had some of the same thoughts. If you read enough scifi, you see the topic pop up. But not nearly as much as you'd think. I would imagine taking all the risk/consequences out of sex (other than the emotional ones) would be the biggest change in our species since fire. Look how much the pill changed things, and "all" that did was allow women not to get pregnant.

    18. Re:Totally pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, I think it's you.

    19. Re:Totally pointless by wulfhound · · Score: 1

      "the day they cure aids" is a nice idea, thing is it probably won't work out like that. It's gone from "Aids is a death sentence" to "Aids is a lifetime on pretty awful drugs that'll probably take a decade or two off your life", in a few years it'll be "Aids is a lifetime on slightly less awful drugs that'll take 5yrs off your life" or "we've got a vaccine but it only works 80% of the time, and then only on two or three common strains". Already youth here (UK) seem to regard it as less of a mortal threat than 10-15 years ago.. hence rocketing rates of syphilis and lesser STDs.

    20. Re:Totally pointless by Shaper_pmp · · Score: 1

      You get The Interwebs in Arkansas?

      --
      Everything in moderation, including moderation itself
    21. Re:Totally pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "And you believe their ridiculous boasts?"

      Not to boast (that's why I'm posting AC - no reason to then, right?), but I'm 27 and my total's 17. In my experience that's moderate for my age/location (27/UK) - not low, but not astronomically high either.

      And I never went out looking specifically for a hook-up - I know of a couple of guys who valued quantity over quality, and they were on 75-100 last time it came up in conversation. Having seen them in action on more than a few nights out I can believe it, too.

      "most of the guys I'm friends with are in age range from 32 to 38 years old, and I don't know a one of them that's had sex in the past decade or so. I know because I have to listen to them complain."

      I don't want to sound rude, but maybe that's just you and your friends. Or maybe your region. Or country.

      True, in the UK you tend to see a lot more action in your late teens and early twenties, but I don't know of many guys (Aspergers-sufferers and the terminally socially ill-equipped aside) who hadn't got laid since they were 22.

      And to be honest, if you're that desperate to get laid join an online adult dating service - apparently they're quite good.

      Just a final word of advice, that people seem incredibly poor at realising:

      If you have two explanations, one of which involves the entire world having changed, and one of which involves you having changed... it's probably you that changed.

      Not to imply anything about you personally, but every woman in the world hasn't suddenly gone off sex.

  2. Vascetomy is better by revlayle · · Score: 1

    ...one time, and it's permanent! YAY!

    unless some of these men would want to make kids someday... i have no clue why anyone would want to do that... *shrugs*

    1. Re:Vascetomy is better by eln · · Score: 4, Funny

      Someday you're going to be looking at your overgrown lawn and wishing you didn't have to mow it. This is where kids come in.

    2. Re:Vascetomy is better by Nos. · · Score: 1

      Well, as you said, someday. My wife and I have a boy who's about 2-weeks short of his first birthday. We'd like a second, but not yet. Once we have the second, I will most likely get a vasectomy (its easier for a guy to get "fixed" than a woman).

      Unless you believe that people should only have sex for the purposes of reproduction, then there are lots of reasons to use birth control, and an extra option like this, for guys, is a good thing. I'm sure we've all heard stories of the girl trapping the guy by getting pregnant by forgetting to take her pill. Well, maybe now those guys will have another option.

    3. Re:Vascetomy is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe some people want to nurture new life...? I know at some point I'd like to have a child... Though first my girlfriend has to agree to that...

    4. Re:Vascetomy is better by doti · · Score: 1
      i have no clue why anyone would want to do that...
      I have a steady job, my life is stable, nearing boredom.

      I need something to turn it into a complete mess, giving me worries, sleepless nights, and suffocating expenditures.
      --
      factor 966971: 966971
    5. Re:Vascetomy is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > unless some of these men would want to make kids someday

      That's the big problem with the female pill at the moment, it puts the entire choice in the woman's court and completely leaves the man out of the picture. If the guy doesn't want kids but the woman does? He gets no say in the matter and she can get pregnant on a whim. If it's the other way around and the guy wants kids and the woman doesn't? she just has to keep popping the pills and again the guy gets no say in the matter. A male pill goes a little way to changing one of those choices and not the other, which is not far enough IMHO but it's a step in the right direction.

      Leaving the entire choice up to just one sex is patently sexual discrimination.

    6. Re:Vascetomy is better by Bieeanda · · Score: 1
      Permanent, aside from those cases where it spontaneously reverses. Those cases are notably rare, perhaps 1 in 2000 at worst, but it can happen.

      Plus, there's the difficulty of finding a doctor to perform the surgery if you're under thirty and/or haven't already had children.

    7. Re:Vascetomy is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know at some point I'd like to have a child... Though first my girlfriend has to agree to that...

      Your imaginary anime girlfriend or the one at the end of your arm?

    8. Re:Vascetomy is better by Smidge204 · · Score: 1

      A synthetic lawn is cheaper in the long run and doesn't need to be mowed. :)

      =Smidge=

    9. Re:Vascetomy is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      > Someday you're going to be looking at your overgrown lawn and wishing you didn't have to mow it. This is where kids come in.

      No, that's where Mexicans come in.

    10. Re:Vascetomy is better by Bieeanda · · Score: 1

      If he's Vampire Hunter D, it could be both.

    11. Re:Vascetomy is better by revlayle · · Score: 1

      Just get a condo... property management will mow it!

    12. Re:Vascetomy is better by disassembled · · Score: 1
      Unless you believe that people should only have sex for the purposes of reproduction, then there are lots of reasons to use birth control, and an extra option like this, for guys, is a good thing. I'm sure we've all heard stories of the girl trapping the guy by getting pregnant by forgetting to take her pill. Well, maybe now those guys will have another option.
      I think it's rather unfortunate that that's the first example that comes to mind regarding the benefits of this pill. How about the simple fact that men are now equally able to take responsibility for birth control in a sexual relationship? Also, this pill provides a nice alternative to the nasty side-effects associated with existing female birth control pills.
    13. Re:Vascetomy is better by buswolley · · Score: 1

      Plasticine Horses and Kaleidoscope eyes.

      --

      A Good Troll is better than a Bad Human.

    14. Re:Vascetomy is better by orasio · · Score: 1

      It's great.
      If this works, men can choose not to have kids, and girls could do that already.
      It's good, because kids should be opt-in, not opt-out.
      If your grl doesn't want to have kids, and is on BC behind your back, you probably don't want to have kids with that kind of person, anyway.

      Aside from that, condoms are great for the other issue, everybody can feel protected with them.
      The only small problem is breakage, but eh, nothing is perfect!

    15. Re:Vascetomy is better by illegalcortex · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think this scenario leaps to mind because it's a real fear. It's actually following your point about men being equally "responsible." Right now men are equally responsible under the law, but they do not have equal options or control of the birth control.

    16. Re:Vascetomy is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just got one a few weeks ago. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. The first needle to inject the lidocaine hurt a bit, after that it was all pretty minor pain. The actual cut was tiny and healed quickly. I spent the next two days laying around and relaxing then went back to work, pain wasn't too bad for the most part as long as I didn't jostle my nuts or try do move faster than a normal walking speed. After about a week I was almost completely back to normal, just some minor pain in certain circumstances (carrying something heavy, climbing a lot of stairs), another week after that and everything is completely normal except a little bit of bruising left but it doesn't hurt and is fading fast. I've performed several times and everything works great.

    17. Re:Vascetomy is better by PsychoSlashDot · · Score: 1

      I'd love to attribute a reference, but I've failed. Within the last two years I read a medical release that showed results along the following general lines: 5 years after vasectomy something like 20% of men were firing live rounds and after 10 years, it was something like 70%. The study stated that the actual ammunition count wasn't as high as prior to the operation, but basically the operation evidently frequently heals, at least to some degree.

      Like I say, I wish to heck I could point at the source. It was... frightening.

      That all being dropped, I can offer an entertaining anecdote that I know is true.

      My uncle and his wife pumped out a kid and decided they were done. She got fixed. No more puppies, right? Wrong. Bad hackjob, and she ended up pregnant within two years, and kid # 2 arrived. Okay, well, lesson learned. So he got fixed. No more puppies, right? Wrong. With both parents spayed or neutered where appropriate, they popped out a third litter of one, something like two years later. Now, I was kind of young at the time and for all I know they had the operations done by some guy in his basement, but let's just say that I've acquired a healthy respectful paranoia about birth-control.

      When and if my wife and I decide it's time, that's fine. But for now... she's on the pill and I'd very likely break my personal "no medication is good for you" ethic if this product makes it to market. And I don't even really trust asprin.

      --
      "Oh no... he found the .sig setting."
    18. Re:Vascetomy is better by Amazing+Quantum+Man · · Score: 1

      I already have 2 kids (both daughters), and don't want and can't afford more. Had the dirty deed done 7 years ago. The wife is much happier off the Pill, too...

      --
      Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
    19. Re:Vascetomy is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "but they do not have equal options or control of the birth control."

      Condom? Unless you are with a psycho with scissors or are the 2% with which it doesn't work or breaks.

    20. Re:Vascetomy is better by soft_guy · · Score: 1

      These are cheaper than children.

      --
      Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
    21. Re:Vascetomy is better by EnderGT · · Score: 1
      Same story... 2 daughters, don't want more.... The chems in the pill can really F**k up a woman's head - life is SOOOOOO much better with her off the pill.

      Definitely the best choice you can make if you've had a few already and know you don't want more. Doesn't hurt that bad either.

    22. Re:Vascetomy is better by KermodeBear · · Score: 1

      Indeed; This is where the kids come in!

      WAY better than human children for keeping the lawn mowed. As an added bonus:
      No diaper changing
      No soccer practice
      No bed time
      No car or driving lessons
      No college tuition
      You can sell them or give them away at any time
      They can give you milk
      They're cute
      They don't smell NEARLY as bad

      --
      Love sees no species.
    23. Re:Vascetomy is better by Alcimedes · · Score: 1

      Might want to double check with your doctor about how long you wait after getting one before you have sex with your partner. There's a reason they tell you to wait at least for weeks. My friend's fifth child is evidence of that.

      He waited four weeks instead of six and had another kid for his trouble.

    24. Re:Vascetomy is better by jaxom_01 · · Score: 1

      As someone with an overgrown lawn and no kids.... hiring a neighborhood kid to mow your lawn for you is not only a good investment in your time and money but it also helps the neighborhood kid with $$$

      --
      The post made with 100% recycled electrons
    25. Re:Vascetomy is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Vote republican?

      Aaaaaaaand I'm outta here.

    26. Re:Vascetomy is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They tell you to ejaculate at least 15 times and then bring them in a sperm sample for testing. Apparently there is a sperm cache so you have to cycle through a certain volume of semen to clear it all out. My wife still has an IUD in for a few more months so everything is under control.

      To address the other post in this thread re: spontaneous reversal - from what I was told that is even more unlikely using current techniques. They actually remove a section and then cauterize both ends. In the past they would just snip it and let it be. I got mine performed at a planned parenthood facility that does something like 400 of them a year - they had never had any fail or spontaneously reverse.

    27. Re:Vascetomy is better by CheshireCatCO · · Score: 1

      Those guys could easily be using condoms. Looking at the probabilities, you can't help but come to the conclusion that you should always try to have two methods of BC in place unless one party is known to be sterile. Besides, condoms prevent the transmission of diseases as well as production of kids. Any guy who gets "trapped" in the way you mention deserves it for being lazy and/or selfish in the first place. (I'm a bit incredulous that this happens very often anyway, but that's another story.)

      All of that rant said, I very much would welcome alternative forms of BC under my own control. I've always trusted my girlfriends, but I also like being able to check for myself *and* I had to see the burden for BC use pushed on just one party. (I also welcome alternatives for women for pretty symmetric reasons: everyone should have options, control, and responsibility.)

    28. Re:Vascetomy is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I also had it done. We had two kids, and enough infertility problems and miscarriages to be sure we NEVER wanted to go through the whole pregnancy process again.

      Not messing with birth control or the pill has been very good for our sex life.

    29. Re:Vascetomy is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My dad permanently lost a testicle to a botched vasectomy. I'll just keep that as a backup option, thanks.

    30. Re:Vascetomy is better by ksheff · · Score: 1

      or be wishing for someone to take care of him for free when he gets to be an old coot.

      --
      the good ground has been paved over by suicidal maniacs
    31. Re:Vascetomy is better by glsunder · · Score: 1

      well, if the wife has a c-section, they can just tie the tubes while they're in there.

    32. Re:Vascetomy is better by Reziac · · Score: 1

      I haven't seen figures that high. More like around 3% recidivism rate, both for males (vasectomy) and females (tubes tied). I did see a recommendation that concerned males should have a sperm check done once a year or so, just to be sure.

      Regardless, the point is it's not perfect and it's not necessarily forever, so it still pays to be careful.

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
    33. Re:Vascetomy is better by eln · · Score: 1

      Yah, I was going to go for the Insightful mods by mentioning how kids give you all sorts of joy, and will take care of you in your old age (if you don't screw them up too badly), but I decided to go for the cheap laugh instead.

    34. Re:Vascetomy is better by illegalcortex · · Score: 1

      The man can verify that he is wearing a condom. The woman can verify that the man is wearing a condom. The man cannot verify that the woman is taking birth control pills.

      Are you begging to see the unequal options and control?

    35. Re:Vascetomy is better by illegalcortex · · Score: 1

      s/begging/beginning/

    36. Re:Vascetomy is better by Amazing+Proton+Boy · · Score: 1

      I call BS. My wife is a zookepper and works with several kinds of goats. Goats STINK!! Sometimes I smell her when she walks in the door even though I'm upstairs at the other end of the house!

    37. Re:Vascetomy is better by KermodeBear · · Score: 1
      They don't smell NEARLY as bad


      I never said they don't stink at all... Just not nearly as bad! (o:
      --
      Love sees no species.
    38. Re:Vascetomy is better by R2.0 · · Score: 1

      My wife has 3 sisters, with 5,4, and 2 kids apeice, and all of their hubby's have been snipped. My wife wants me to get it as well, but as a firm believer in Murphy's Lay I am fuilly convinced that the second I do anything irrevocable to my reproductive capacity my entire family will be wiped out in a freak accident.

      And I don't want to hear about "reversible". Bullshit - 50% isn't good enough for me.

      --
      "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
    39. Re:Vascetomy is better by DragonWriter · · Score: 1
      If the guy doesn't want kids but the woman does?


      He has sex with someone else? Or maybe uses a condom?

      He gets no say in the matter and she can get pregnant on a whim.


      No, I think the man is still required to be an active participant, barring some extraordinarily unlikely scenarios.

      If it's the other way around and the guy wants kids and the woman doesn't?


      Then the guy either accepts not having kids, or finds someone else to do it with. The "male pill" doesn't change this.

      A male pill goes a little way to changing one of those choices and not the other, which is not far enough IMHO but it's a step in the right direction.


      Er, are you saying that both the situations you suggest should be changed? I.e., that men should not only have the choice not to have kids when the woman wants to, but also the ability to force the woman to have children when she doesn't want to?

    40. Re:Vascetomy is better by illegalcortex · · Score: 1

      Birth control is generally a factor in a long term relationship. After you have been going out for a long while, move in together, etc., it's common to move from condoms to the pill. It makes things simpler and more spontaneous for both partners, so it's not just a guy thing. It's not always so much a "trap" thing, but some % of women will always make the decision to have children on their own. And when you have millions of people going at it, that percentage means you're not just talking about one or two but thousands.

      Personally, I'd welcome the male pill/patch because many women are understandably opposed to taking the female pill. However, it's not going to be quite that easy. I think it's going to take a LOT of trust (or maybe stupidity) for a woman to trust that the man was competent/trustworthy to take his BC. Considering that the physical effects fall solely on the woman, this will always be a big issue.

    41. Re:Vascetomy is better by CheshireCatCO · · Score: 1

      In fairness, a lot of women are opposed to the pill because of the side-effects for them. I would not be surprised if the male pills ended up more consistent in their effects on men, so it wouldn't be unreasonable for men to go for the pill (or patch) in that case.

      And I agree, there is a lot of trust there for women, but if they don't trust the guy:
      a) Maybe sex isn't such a great idea?
      b) There are other forms of birth control than the pill. Not all of them inhibit spontaneity, either. I think all of my female friends who want birth control have found something that works without horrific side effects or being too much of a bother. It took several of them a few tries and several doctor visits to find the right system, though.

    42. Re:Vascetomy is better by thc69 · · Score: 1
      Leaving the entire choice up to just one sex is patently sexual discrimination.
      Pardon the thread-hijacking (and please, in this disussion, do not ask me to call it "threadjacking"), but since you mentioned "patently"...

      I hate to say it, but I've read that one of the reasons why a few promising male contraceptive discoveries (based on existing technology and drugs) haven't been developed is because the patents relating to them are already expired. Is this one case where a patent system that awards patents more liberally would be a big advantage?
      --
      Procrastination -- because good things come to those who wait.
    43. Re:Vascetomy is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You could always adopt. I doubt there's anything special about your genes.

    44. Re:Vascetomy is better by kchrist · · Score: 1

      I expected trouble from my doctor when I had my vasectomy consultation, but it was actually pretty easy. I was a little over 30 but didn't have kids. When he started in on the "This is permanent, you know..." stuff I politely explained that I had been sure about this for years, had already done my research, and my long-term SO was ok with it as well (and was, in fact, sitting in the waiting room if he would like to ask her). After that he relaxed and just answered my questions and set up an appointment.

      I'm sure that would have gone quite differently if I were a childless woman wanting a tubal ligation, though.

    45. Re:Vascetomy is better by toadlife · · Score: 1

      Do they sell a robot that will take care of you when you grow old and senile?

      --
      I don't always use unix-like operating systems; but when I do, I prefer FreeBSD.
    46. Re:Vascetomy is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Disposable Income > Slave Labor

    47. Re:Vascetomy is better by mink · · Score: 1

      Look to Japan.

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
  3. For mice only by KingArthur10 · · Score: 4, Informative

    So far, this study has been done on mice only and the dosage was applied only once. The BBC has a decent write-up about it. Hopefully this will be applicable to humans, but many believe the exact drug will not work on human males.

    --
    I came, I saw, She conquered.
    1. Re:For mice only by Sloppy · · Score: 1

      Alas that it only works on mice with balls. Slashdotters will still need protection when handling optical mice after a .. um .. relaxing session with their computer.

      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
  4. Only 2 small side effects by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Hair loss and erectile dysfunction.

  5. I heard about this once! by rehtonAesoohC · · Score: 1

    He told her he was on the male pill. She slapped him... That was the end of that.

    1. Re:I heard about this once! by drooling-dog · · Score: 1

      He told her he was on the male pill. She slapped him... That was the end of that.

      She would have been taking a hell of a chance by believing him, and that is the biggest problem with it.

    2. Re:I heard about this once! by ElleyKitten · · Score: 1
      She would have been taking a hell of a chance by believing him, and that is the biggest problem with it.
      Men take just as much chance by believing women who say they're on the pill. Men don't get pregnant, but they do have to pay child support, and it's good for them to have options to prevent having kids if they don't want to. It also helps couples when the woman can't take hormonal birth control, for whatever reason, and couples who want a backup but aren't fond of condoms.
      --
      "What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
    3. Re:I heard about this once! by Lisana · · Score: 1

      Or those of us who can't take the hormonal stuff, plus doctor recommends two methods of birth control (because of medication, and heath issues). I would love to see this make it to market. My husband doesn't want a vasectomy for personal reasons (not what you might expect), and so far the only other male contraceptive option we've heard of involves painful injections, and I don't want to subject him to that.

      I know there are other barrier methods available, but I'm not in the mood often to begin with, and having to deal with one of these other methods is often enough to put me out of the mood before we've gotten anywhere.

  6. No side-effects? by NekoXP · · Score: 1

    Didn't they say that when they did the first trials for the female contraceptive pill?

    Totally safe! No apparent bad things can happen!

    Except blood clots and cancer, 20 years later..

    1. Re:No side-effects? by Dion · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well it's better than the alternative...

      --
      -- To dream a dream is grand, but to live it is divine. -- Leto ][
    2. Re:No side-effects? by Physician · · Score: 1

      Same thing with the Lasik eye surgery. Who knew everyone would become blind in 10 years?

      --
      Does God treat us as servants or friends? Check my homepage.
    3. Re:No side-effects? by NekoXP · · Score: 1

      I think the US Air Force had some doubts; they still use the other eye surgery method (I really forget the name) and will even deny your application to join the air force if you have ever has LASIK. They've been doing that since well, well before it turned out it wasn't so good a procedure.

      I guess unproven crazy surgeries aren't good to have. To be honest I wouldn't go through anything like this - no weird-ass pills for contraception, no lasers on my cornea, no nothing. I'd rather die of cancer than do chemotherapy and lose my hair. At least it would be a fairly sure death, and not years of running on empty wondering if it's really working or not or if it will reappear.

      Sometimes you just have to accept life deals you a dog turd, wearing gloves doesn't make it that you are somehow not holding a shit in your hand.

    4. Re:No side-effects? by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

      You forgot to mention significantly supressed sex drive. Kinda defeats the purpose.

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
    5. Re:No side-effects? by NekoXP · · Score: 1

      Is that a side effect or an intentional thing?

      No sex = definitely no babies. 100% effective :)

  7. Idiots by Cybert4 · · Score: 1

    Just get castrated like me. Try that for birth control! I have as much chance of having kids as Bush does of thinking logically.

    1. Re:Idiots by illegalcortex · · Score: 1

      I have as much chance of having kids as Bush does of thinking logically.

      That's not a very nice opinion of women. ;)

    2. Re:Idiots by RMB2 · · Score: 1

      I sorta think wearing a band-aid sounds somewhat less painful

      --
      [/sarcasm]
  8. Call me hypocritical but... by SkunkPussy · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...there is no chance of me (as a man) ever using this!

    They say no side effects, but look at "safe" female contraception which may lead to increased chance of certain cancers (although decreased chance of others).

    Not that I'm going to stop my gf taking the pill though...

    --
    SURELY NOT!!!!!
    1. Re:Call me hypocritical but... by ElleyKitten · · Score: 1

      So it's ok for her to risk her health, but not you? What if she couldn't take the pill, would you try this option?

      --
      "What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
    2. Re:Call me hypocritical but... by SkunkPussy · · Score: 1

      I agree its a moral dilemma. If I was a woman I would be as reluctant to take the female contraceptive pill as I am the male contraceptive pill. I think I'm just selfish.

      --
      SURELY NOT!!!!!
    3. Re:Call me hypocritical but... by jfengel · · Score: 1

      Some women take contraceptive pills to make their periods more predictable, and sometimes easier, even in the absence of the chance of getting pregnant. (I've even known lesbians who take the pill for exactly those reasons.) Presumably they find it worth the risk of issues later in life.

      The male pill probably doesn't offer the same kind of additional benefits, so I can see some couples deciding that if it's going to be one or the other it should be her.

      But then, I'm paranoid, and I can see having both of us on contraceptive pills. And even at that I'm not sure I'd be comfortable without the barrier method (i.e. condoms) as well.

    4. Re:Call me hypocritical but... by SunTzuWarmaster · · Score: 1

      My fiance was on the pill and it caused her to have a stroke (she was 20 at the time). She cannot be on the pill now, and has to take measures to reduce the damage what it has caused (minor, but a second stroke could kill her). Even though the sex isn't a primary concern, if there was an option that was as reliable for me to take, I would take it in a heartbeat. Besides, condoms suck

    5. Re:Call me hypocritical but... by Creedo · · Score: 1

      So, use NFP. Ignore the religious bits, if you are so inclined. It works great.

      --
      All that is necessary for the triumph of good is that evil men do nothing.
    6. Re:Call me hypocritical but... by ElleyKitten · · Score: 1
      So, use NFP. Ignore the religious bits, if you are so inclined. It works great.
      Dude, if he's paranoid enough to consider using condoms and male birth control when it comes out even if she's on the pill, then NFP alone isn't going to cover it.

      I've used NFP before, and it's a great way to (as a woman) get in touch with your body. But I would never use it as my only birth control in a situation where I absolutly did not want to get pregnant. There's a reason it's used only by people who believe children are literally a gift from God.
      --
      "What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
    7. Re:Call me hypocritical but... by commodoresloat · · Score: 1

      His userid is "Skunkpussy." You were expecting a more enlightened attitude?

    8. Re:Call me hypocritical but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Natural Family Planning... enough said.

    9. Re:Call me hypocritical but... by Vellmont · · Score: 1


      So it's ok for her to risk her health, but not you?

      The female contraceptive pill in one form or another has been in use for 46 years and the risks are well known and documented. Furthermore the risks associated with the pill are less than those of getting pregnant. In other words if you're having sex, you're actually safer on the pill than not. There's no equivalent health benefit for men on a male contraceptive pill, so the two situations aren't analogous.

      --
      AccountKiller
  9. Not only that... by Junta · · Score: 1

    A vascetomy is reversable afaik.

    --
    XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
    1. Re:Not only that... by Junta · · Score: 1

      Actually, I take it back, the chances are significant that reversal procedures don't succed.

      --
      XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
    2. Re:Not only that... by Nos. · · Score: 1

      Not 100%. From Wikipedia "there is a procedure to reverse vasectomies using vasovasostomy (a form of microsurgery). It is, however, not effective in all cases".

      Given that this is a life altering decision, I'm of the opinion that you shouldn't opt for a vasectomy if you think you might want it reversed later on.

    3. Re:Not only that... by Ana10g · · Score: 1

      yea, but stopping a pill hurts a lot less.

      --
      just an analog boy living in a digital age.
    4. Re:Not only that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Technically, it is. They tell you up front to never count on that though because current techniques are not very successful. It's presented as irreversible and they want you to agree that you understand it is most likely permanent. Your testicals do still produce sperm though, no reason a doctor shouldn't be able to extract some and artificially fertilize an egg with them even if they can't re-wire you to include them in your semen.

    5. Re:Not only that... by Iron+Condor · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Actually, I take it back, the chances are significant that reversal procedures don't succed.

      Depends -- technology hasn't exactly stood still. There's a variety of options out there these days, including things that are effectively clamps that are put onto the tubes (instead of cutting them) that can be removed fairly easily at some later day. Usually there's some additional (minor, outpatient) surgery needed to re-open your tubing as it tends to grow shut where it was clamped shut, but the success-rate of that stuff apears to be a lot higher than trying to re-attach hoses that were disconnected for many years.

      It's been many years since I've read up that kind of thing, but at the time there were new options almost on an annual basis.

      (Writing this as a guy whos "between 25 and 35" period started in the 90ies and who's slept with double-digit numbers of folks during that decade. Dunno what people's problem is. Maybe if you didn't try to have sex with ugly women who don't want to have sex with you but instead try to bed the cute and horny ones you'd be more successful? Just a suggestion...)

      --
      We're all born with nothing.
      If you die in debt, you're ahead.
    6. Re:Not only that... by Some_Llama · · Score: 1

      I was listening to Dr. Dean Edell on the radio the other day and he said that vascetomies reversal rate decreases by 10% a year after the procedure.. so I would say it pretty much isn't reversable as when a man has one i doubt he would want it reversed within that 10 year time frame...right?

    7. Re:Not only that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Given that this is a life altering decision, I'm of the opinion that you shouldn't opt for a vasectomy if you think you might want it reversed later on.

      My thinking, at 37, was that while having a vasectomy reversed is a risky, traumatic, and expensive procedure with no guarantee of success, so is the decision to have a kid. The way I figure it, if I change my mind later and decide to try to raise a child of my own, a vasectomy reversal will be by far the least radical part of the plan.

      So far, at 38, the plan seems to be working. :)

    8. Re:Not only that... by heinousjay · · Score: 1

      In general, when someone starts boasting about their sexual exploits on the internet, the last time they were near a vagina was during their birth.

      --
      Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
    9. Re:Not only that... by jahudabudy · · Score: 1

      Iron Condor said he hit double digits in 10 years. So he averaged about one lay a year. That's only bragging for slashdotters and married guys...

      --
      ...sometimes, in order to hurt someone very badly, you have to tell that person terrible lies. - PA
    10. Re:Not only that... by Iron+Condor · · Score: 1

      starts boasting about their sexual exploits

      As the other dude points out, it takes a seriously deprived person to imagine that an average of 1.5 or so sex partners per year for an unmarried guy is "boasting". Some years add a couple because of a couple short-term things, other years go by with me being happyly together with the same person. A relationship lasts six weeks, or six months, or six years, and you won'k know until you try. What part of that is "boasting"?

      (In case you missed it: the G...GP was claiming that 90% of single men have no more than one sex-partner for the decade of their 25th through 35 year. It ain't exactly "boasting" just because you aren't quite as stuck up as that.)

      --
      We're all born with nothing.
      If you die in debt, you're ahead.
  10. Required? by jasonla · · Score: 1

    Great, we have a pill for men. The only problem is it's on a voluntary basis. Prescriptions based on intelligence and ability to support a child should determine candidacy for this pill.

    1. Re:Required? by VorpalEdge · · Score: 1

      Have fun enforcing that. Or even determining intelligence (hint: IQ tests suck).

    2. Re:Required? by TychoCelchuuu · · Score: 1

      So much more humane than simply killing them! Truly, you are a saint.

      --
      Against stupidity the Gods themselves contend in vain.
    3. Re:Required? by oliverthered · · Score: 1

      IQ tests suck

      Only if your bad at them.

      --
      thank God the internet isn't a human right.
    4. Re:Required? by VorpalEdge · · Score: 1

      Nah, I simply base my determination of intellect on a different-enough basis than the IQ test. I'd go further, but it'd be off-topic.

    5. Re:Required? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Congratulations Slashdot user 211640 (jasonla), you have been selected for initial trials of a great new product. Through a selective screening process, only the most fitting candidates have been chosen for this rare opportunity. We at EugenAmerica Inc. take great pride in our work toward advancing the human race, and now you too will have a part in the achievement of this lofty goal. Be sure not to miss this opportunity to respond now, and enjoy the benefits of a lifetime home treatment plan. Take pride, you are now part of the path to the future that will guide mankind to glorious new heights.

      Treatments are every 15 days, at $199.95 per treatment, plus a annual administrative cost of $699.96 (that's only $58.33 a month). Adminstered treatments have an additional labor cost of $149.95 per session. All costs and applicable taxes are due at time of treatment. Failure to pay in full will constitute a missed treatment. Failure to respond to this notice, begin treatment within thirty (30) days, on or before November 20, 2006, or a missed treatment, is a criminal offence, subject to fines and/or jail time, and a forfeiture of the home self treatment option.

    6. Re:Required? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you kidding?

      If anyone fails that test then they should be put on the pill, mandatory!

    7. Re:Required? by VTMarik · · Score: 1

      I could say the same thing about some women. The issue is that Men have two choices: condom or vasectomy. Women, on the other hand, have female condoms, diaphragms, the pill, the sponge, and shots.

      How about a little equality?

    8. Re:Required? by quark122 · · Score: 1

      You are = you're, not your. How did you score?

    9. Re:Required? by mmkkbb · · Score: 1

      don't forget the film and the implants and the ring and the IUD

      --
      -mkb
  11. Male pill by Robber+Baron · · Score: 3, Funny

    Male pill...the man puts it in his shoe and it makes him limp.

    --

    You're using her as bait, Master!

    1. Re:Male pill by subl33t · · Score: 1

      Man, I wish I had mod points for you!

  12. Long-term by phorm · · Score: 1

    I always wonder about the long-term effects of these pills. How do they know that, in 10-15 years, the pills won't cause permanent infertility in a certain percentage of males? How about in 20-50 years, that they won't have long-term defects in offspring. It's not that the research isn't a useful thing, but I think I'll let a generation or two act as the guinea pigs for this before me.

    1. Re:Long-term by zen-theorist · · Score: 1
      It's not that the research isn't a useful thing, but I think I'll let a generation or two act as the guinea pigs for this before me.
      unless you just discovered the elixir of youth, you won't outlive the two "generations of guinea pigs" for it to be of any use to you.
    2. Re:Long-term by TCQuad · · Score: 1

      How about in 20-50 years, that they won't have long-term defects in offspring

      Given the small volume and short lifespan of the sperm along with the dilution factor, it's doubtful that the male pill would affect any offspring created the natural way. It's actually more likely that the female pill would have harmful side-effects since the length of incubation time would augment any small effects lingering around after the contraception had stopped.

    3. Re:Long-term by nEoN+nOoDlE · · Score: 1

      I think I'll let a generation or two act as the guinea pigs for this before me.

      Well, by that time, I assure you you won't need it.

      --
      Don't trust a bull's horn, a doberman's tooth, a runaway horse or me.
    4. Re:Long-term by neoform · · Score: 1

      You planning on having kids when you're in your 50s and 60s?

      Most people who would be using this would be 20 to 40 years old.. if there are long term side effects that turn out to be infertility... wont it happen so late in your life that it wouldn't really matter anyway.. ?

      --
      MABASPLOOM!
    5. Re:Long-term by phorm · · Score: 1

      Possibly, but by that time I'm counting in science to give me improved longevity and virility. When is comes to living longer, well your the choice of die vs the side effects of well, die isn't quite as complicated :-)

    6. Re:Long-term by Propaganda13 · · Score: 1

      I wondered about RISUG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RISUG. There were concerns that caused human testing to be stopped in 2002, but I guess that has been cleared up and testing has started again this year.

      This would definitely be a man's birth control if it works out.
      One shot = 10 year birth control

  13. I overheard a girl saying the pill didn't work... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...it kept falling out. I really hope she figured it out and stayed out of the gene pool.

  14. What if you take it with Viagra by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What if you mix it with Viagra?

    Reminds me of a friend who once took weed with scotch. ...Just once..

  15. Early Adopters by everphilski · · Score: 2, Funny

    Its the price of being an early adopter, just like purchasing a 1st gen Nintendo DS or a 1st gen MacBook... except with your body.

  16. Where?? by lbmouse · · Score: 1

    The article doesn't explain exactly where you have to stick the gel patch ;).

    1. Re:Where?? by Iron+Condor · · Score: 1

      The article doesn't explain exactly where you have to stick the gel patch ;).

      Yeah, that's the dirty little secret: The patch is three feet long by two feet wide and 11 inches thick. It has to be applied topically directly on the penis. Studies show that it prevents fertility with almost complete efficiency...

      --
      We're all born with nothing.
      If you die in debt, you're ahead.
  17. WoW themed patches by SoyChemist · · Score: 1
    Can I get custom patches printed with my WoW character on them? I wonder if they can make transparent background patches so it would look like I have a really cool tattoo, perhaps of an elf or a dwarf or a battle axe. Perhaps posessive girlfriends will want custom patches that have Property of hernamehere on them. Color coded patches would be great too.
    • Blue if you are single.
    • Green if you are in a relationship.
    • Neon green if you are in a relationship with a lusty nerdess.
    • Rainbow if you are gay.
    • Yellow if you are a swinger.
    On a more serious note, This development should seriously empower women. I know too many girls that have got pregnant during college and had to drop out. A friend of mine from highschool has three kids with three different guys. Perhaps some women will prefer to date guys that wear the patch regularly. Of course, then fake patches will show up.
    1. Re:WoW themed patches by EvilCabbage · · Score: 1

      "I know too many girls that have got pregnant during college and had to drop out. A friend of mine from highschool has three kids with three different guys."

      That says to me that your friends have issues throwing their ass around town without thinking about the consequences.

      I'm no prude, but if they're not going to use their head, they shouldn't be fucking.

    2. Re:WoW themed patches by illegalcortex · · Score: 2

      Rainbow if you are gay.

      Errrr....

    3. Re:WoW themed patches by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "A friend of mine from highschool has three kids with three different guys."

      Maybe she should have told them to wear a condom?

    4. Re:WoW themed patches by illegalcortex · · Score: 1

      I'm no prude, but if they're not going to use their head, they shouldn't be fucking.

      Good luck arguing your way out of millions of years of evolution.

    5. Re:WoW themed patches by Iamthefallen · · Score: 1

      I'm no prude, but if they're not going to use their head, they shouldn't be fucking.

      Fortunately, very few women become pregnant when they just use their head.

      --
      Wax-Museum Fire Results In Hundreds Of New Danny DeVito Statues
    6. Re:WoW themed patches by DragonWriter · · Score: 1
      On a more serious note, This development should seriously empower women.


      Hmm. I would think, in that regard, its pretty much negligible: the female pill seriously empowers women, reproductively; this new development adds nothing for women that the condom and the ability to refuse to couple with anyone not using one didn't already provide.

      A friend of mine from highschool has three kids with three different guys. Perhaps some women will prefer to date guys that wear the patch regularly.


      I don't think that anyone who wouldn't taken responsibility for contraception with existing technology after having one or more previous unwanted pregnancies is, because of this new technology, going to take responsibility any sooner.
    7. Re:WoW themed patches by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And if your Bi?

      I'd like a black one please.
      Some how I get the feeling I'll be stuck with murky gray, or half rainbow, half blue.
      Dissapointing

      On a different note,
      As long as the side effects aren't too servere I really think that every young man should be taking this. You can't expect a girl to always be on the pill, unless you are willing to do the exact same thing. It's what relationships are about funnily enough.

    8. Re:WoW themed patches by arkane1234 · · Score: 1

      As long as the side effects aren't too servere I really think that every young man should be taking this. You can't expect a girl to always be on the pill, unless you are willing to do the exact same thing. It's what relationships are about funnily enough.

      Boy I sure am glad that medication can't be forced upon you... because what you just said scared the hell out of me. In a nutshell you just said that you deem everyone's health in a laissez faire attitude.
      Every girl has a choice to use the pill or not, so my guess is every young man should to. Besides, the female pill isn't a utopia, either....

      --
      -- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
  18. No side effects? by AdamKG · · Score: 1

    What about infertility?

    --
    groupthink: It's good for self-esteem.
    1. Re:No side effects? by Atheose · · Score: 1

      That's not a side effect... that's an intended effect. Temporary infertility, at least.

  19. My surprise is about to turn 3! by RingDev · · Score: 1

    Don't let my pasty white skin and ebbing physic fool you. Chicks dig scrawny pale guys, if you know where to look.

    -Rick

    --
    "Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
    1. Re:My surprise is about to turn 3! by lewp · · Score: 2, Funny

      A mortuary?

      --
      Game... blouses.
    2. Re:My surprise is about to turn 3! by RingDev · · Score: 1

      Close. :P I've worked and partied at a number of Goth clubs in the US and never had a problem.

      -Rick

      --
      "Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
    3. Re:My surprise is about to turn 3! by Zwack · · Score: 1

      You're a physics student? Or you are referring to an old name for a doctor? Or did you mean Physique?

      Damn that's hard to understand.

      Z.

      --
      -- Under/Overrated is meta-moderation, and therefore is Redundant.
    4. Re:My surprise is about to turn 3! by RingDev · · Score: 1

      Physique is the word I was looking for. Thanks for the correction. I looked at that sentence, and I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't remember the proper spelling. And a right proper embarrassment is what my lazy editing gets me.

      -Rick

      --
      "Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
    5. Re:My surprise is about to turn 3! by Zwack · · Score: 1

      No Problem, and thank you for taking the correction in good humour. I try not to be a spelling nazi too often, but sometimes I just can't help myself.

      Z.

      --
      -- Under/Overrated is meta-moderation, and therefore is Redundant.
    6. Re:My surprise is about to turn 3! by Atzanteol · · Score: 2, Funny

      Ugh. I've been to some of those. Given a choice I'd take the mortuary.

      --
      "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"

      - Charles Darwin
    7. Re:My surprise is about to turn 3! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      no worst,

      Hot Topic

      eww

    8. Re:My surprise is about to turn 3! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I like "scrawny pale guys." Yummy geeky boys are hot.

    9. Re:My surprise is about to turn 3! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dad, you're creeping me out again.

    10. Re:My surprise is about to turn 3! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ebbing is a chemist, not a physicist.

      That honestly was my first thought when I read the grandparent's post. I guess it's obvious whether or not I have a girlfriend.

    11. Re:My surprise is about to turn 3! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fat girls need love too!!

  20. That's okay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I prefer using Unixs to being a unich.

  21. Something I've always wondered... by oldosadmin · · Score: 1

    does a vasectomy ... eh ... unload the gun, or do you just start shooting blanks.

    i.e., does the trouser snake still throw up, or does it turn into dry heaves

    (serious question)

    --
    Jay | http://oldos.org
    1. Re:Something I've always wondered... by MorderVonAllem · · Score: 1

      "Because the sperm itself makes up a very small proportion of the ejaculate, vasectomy does not affect the volume, appearance, texture or flavor of the ejaculate."

    2. Re:Something I've always wondered... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think "Shooting blanks" would be the correct analogy. Actual sperm make up only a tiny amount of the total, and since the procedure just stops sperm from being added to the 'mix', there's really no noticable change at all, short of using a microscope.

    3. Re:Something I've always wondered... by Iron+Condor · · Score: 1

      does a vasectomy ... eh ... unload the gun, or do you just start shooting blanks.

      Last time I checked (early nineties, but I don't see why that should've changed since then) there was the idea that you're still ...uh... "primed for seven shot". After that you can carry a teaspoon of goo to the clinic to have them verify your infertility.

      --
      We're all born with nothing.
      If you die in debt, you're ahead.
    4. Re:Something I've always wondered... by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 1

      When you get a vasectomy:

      1. They cut and tie the tubes leading from your testes to the rest of your body. Then they sew you back up. In other words, there's no outwards difference.
      2. The hormonal aspects are kept intact. In other words, you can still think with your dick.
      3. The actual volume of sperm in the ejaculate is trivial compared to the volume created from the rest of the organs. In other words, you won't notice a difference in volume. The only difference in your content is that there's no sperm in it. It still comes out, pun intended.
      4. If you could previously get an erection, then you can still get them unless they cut the wrong wire. If you can't, then it's probably psychological rather than physiological.

      Huh, my sysadmin is sending me an "urgent" email. I wonder what that's about...

      --

      ---
      ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
  22. Rainbow if you are Gay by SoyChemist · · Score: 1

    Gay or straight is not a binary thing. Gay men have been known to get women pregnant.

    1. Re:Rainbow if you are Gay by PlusFiveTroll · · Score: 1

      Hmm, You didn't think about that before you posted. A strict homosexual would not have to have a patch at all.

  23. Doesn't have to break... by Svartalf · · Score: 1

    All it takes is a good pinhole stretched in it- which can happen if you use the wrong stuff for lubricant, etc...

    --
    I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
    1. Re:Doesn't have to break... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All it takes is a good pinhole stretched in it- which can happen if you use the wrong stuff for lubricant, etc...

      If you can't be trusted to use the right lubricant (which only requires you to remember to get the right kind when you buy it every now and then), can you really trust yourself to take the pill.....every day?

    2. Re:Doesn't have to break... by illegalcortex · · Score: 1

      It's not just about trusting yourself, but about trusting the other person who may also be buying, using the lubricant. Once again, you lose control over the situation, but you still get the "responsiblity" by law.

  24. Paternity Insurance by onkelonkel · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Think of taking this pill as Paternity Insurance. When some random girl you hooked up with one night (who swore she was on the pill) shows up 9 months later with a baby, a DNA test and a lawyer who will nail you for 18 years worth of child support you might be wishing you did.

    And enough with the whining about side effects. Anabolic steroids can make your hair fall out, your epiphysia (growth plates) fuse prematurely, cover you in zits and make your nads shrivel to the size of raisins.....but some of you will take em anyway.

    --
    None of them can see the clouds; The polished wings don't care.
    1. Re:Paternity Insurance by crossmr · · Score: 2, Funny

      I always make them sign a paper if they tell me they're on the pill, it requires 2 witnesses and a video taped statement. I also have it notarized.

    2. Re:Paternity Insurance by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 1

      The DNA test should be enough to prove your innocence, assuming you are.

    3. Re:Paternity Insurance by Nimey · · Score: 1

      How often do you get laid?

      --
      Hail Eris, full of mischief...

      E pluribus sanguinem
    4. Re:Paternity Insurance by yarbo · · Score: 1

      How many people here would take steroids to the point of having those side effects? (one cycle at low dosages can provide significant anabolic gains with few side effects)

      Having unprotected sex with strangers has enough side effects, male pill or not.

    5. Re:Paternity Insurance by Psmylie · · Score: 2, Insightful
      That's a very good point. I've talked to my wife about this... according to her, many girls in high school, and young women just out of high school, actually WANT to get pregnant, for a variety of reasons. Which may include any combination of the following:

      1. To keep a man in a relationship with them
      2. To have something that will love them and that they can dote on
      3. To feel more like a grownup
      4. To get "free welfare" so they don't have to work (yes, I actually knew someone who got pregnant for this reason... sick, huh?)

      Thing is, not too many high-school or college age boys really want to be daddies. Male contraceptives like this are a safeguard (though, not 100%) against this kind of life-altering event. It's happened to both my brothers, and to my brother-in-law. Not that they don't love their kids, of course, but before they were born, they didn't want to be a parent quite yet. Now they're stuck still having to associate with women that they stopped having a romantic relationship with years ago, simply because they're the mother of their child. Oh, and paying tons of child support.

      Simple rule of thumb... If you don't want to have kids, don't trust the woman's contraceptives. Bring your own. Because sometimes women lie, or make mistakes (like taking antibiotics while on the pill, which reduces it's effectiveness. That could be a nice surprise) or whatever. And, having two kinds of birth control (yours and hers) while still not 100% effective, lowers the odds even further of an "accident" happening.

      --

      psmylie's dictionary: Godzillion (noun) Any number large enough to destroy Tokyo

    6. Re:Paternity Insurance by crossmr · · Score: 2, Funny

      My wife says whenever I do the dishes...so you know..infrequently ;)

      I make her do far less paperwork.

    7. Re:Paternity Insurance by onkelonkel · · Score: 1

      Yeah, you're probably right. The set of people who are the intersection of (massive steroid overuse) and (posts on slashdot) is probably not that big. It was meant tongue-in-cheek.

      --
      None of them can see the clouds; The polished wings don't care.
    8. Re:Paternity Insurance by Oswald · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I'll just jump right in here and admit that I suspect my daughter of having purposely gotten pregnant, while telling her partner (now husband, the poor sap) that she was using the pill. Because I divorced her mother years ago, I had less influence on her as she grew up than I would have liked, but there's no guarantee I could have made any difference.

      Bearing children is instinctive in women. Like all instincts, it can drive people to do unscrupulous things. Young men, protect yourselves.

    9. Re:Paternity Insurance by virg_mattes · · Score: 1

      The point to consider is that part where he said she swears she's on the pill. In the case where she's not, then your patch will prevent her showing up with a baby that matches your DNA.

      Carry on.

      Virg

    10. Re:Paternity Insurance by malsdavis · · Score: 1

      Most of those 'side-effects' are very pleasant. Slahdot people should try this - what will certainly be a - new experience.

    11. Re:Paternity Insurance by quisph · · Score: 1
      Think of taking this pill as Paternity Insurance. When some random girl you hooked up with one night...

      If this is how you live your life, you might want to give some thought to STD Insurance. You're not going to get any from a pill, no matter which partner takes it.

  25. Beware the evils of contraception by bluevector · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    We must escape from the Culture of Death; to learn about alternatives to medical contraceptives and the contraceptive mentality, please visit the following sites where you can learn about the techniques and benefits of modern Natural Family Planning (NFP):

    Couple to Couple League International

    Billings Ovulation Method

    One More Soul

    Pope Paul VI Institute

    From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

    2351 Lust is disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure. Sexual pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes

    2353 Fornication is carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of persons and of human sexuality which is naturally ordered to the good of spouses and the generation and education of children. Moreover, it is a grave scandal when there is corruption of the young.

    2360 Sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman. In marriage the physical intimacy of the spouses becomes a sign and pledge of spiritual communion. Marriage bonds between baptized persons are sanctified by the sacrament.

    2361 "Sexuality, by means of which man and woman give themselves to one another through the acts which are proper and exclusive to spouses, is not something simply biological, but concerns the innermost being of the human person as such. It is realized in a truly human way only if it is an integral part of the love by which a man and woman commit themselves totally to one another until death."

    Tobias got out of bed and said to Sarah, "Sister, get up, and let us pray and implore our Lord that he grant us mercy and safety." So she got up, and they began to pray and implore that they might be kept safe. Tobias began by saying, "Blessed are you, O God of our fathers. . . . You made Adam, and for him you made his wife Eve as a helper and support. From the two of them the race of mankind has sprung. You said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; let us make a helper for him like himself.' I now am taking this kinswoman of mine, not because of lust, but with sincerity. Grant that she and I may find mercy and that we may grow old together." And they both said, "Amen, Amen." Then they went to sleep for the night. (Tob 8:4-9)

    2362 "The acts in marriage by which the intimate and chaste union of the spouses takes place are noble and honorable; the truly human performance of these acts fosters the self-giving they signify and enriches the spouses in joy and gratitude." Sexuality is a source of joy and pleasure:

    The Creator himself . . . established that in the [generative] function, spouses should experience pleasure and enjoyment of body and spirit. Therefore, the spouses do nothing evil in seeking this pleasure and enjoyment. They accept what the Creator has intended for them. At the same time, spouses should know how to keep themselves within the limits of just moderation.

    2363 The spouses' union achieves the twofold end of marriage: the good of the spouses themselves and the transmission of life. These two meanings or values of marriage cannot be separated without altering the couple's spiritual life and compromising the goods of marriage and the future of the family.

    The conjugal love of man and woman thus stands under the twofold obligation of fidelity and fecundity.

    2366 Fecundity is a gift, an end of marriage, for conjugal love naturally tends to be fruitful. A child does not come from outside as something added on to the mutual love of the spouses, but springs from the very heart of that mutual giving, as its fruit and fulfillment. So the Church, which is "on the side of life," teaches that "it is necessary that each a

    --
    IC XC NIKA
    1. Re:Beware the evils of contraception by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yesh, Reverend, step away from the pulpit...

    2. Re:Beware the evils of contraception by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And there you have it: why the Catholic church is sinking into irrelevance.

    3. Re:Beware the evils of contraception by Alphager · · Score: 1

      Thank you, but i prefer to plan my (sexual) life according to _my_ rules and not according to the rules of some shepperds who lived 4000 years ago.

    4. Re:Beware the evils of contraception by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did anyone else read this and perversely want to have premarital sex immediately?

      More than usual, I mean.

    5. Re:Beware the evils of contraception by loimprevisto · · Score: 1
      Tobias got out of bed and said to Sarah, "Sister, get up, and let us pray and implore our Lord that he grant us mercy and safety." So she got up, and they began to pray and implore that they might be kept safe. Tobias began by saying, "Blessed are you, O God of our fathers. . . . You made Adam, and for him you made his wife Eve as a helper and support. From the two of them the race of mankind has sprung. You said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; let us make a helper for him like himself.' I now am taking this kinswoman of mine, not because of lust, but with sincerity. Grant that she and I may find mercy and that we may grow old together." And they both said, "Amen, Amen." Then they went to sleep for the night. (Tob 8:4-9)

      Come on now... lets get some more funny mods to outweigh that troll mod. This stuff is pure gold! As long as you commit incest with sincerity it's OK with the church ;)
      --
      Much Madness is divinest Sense --
      To a discerning Eye --
      Much Sense -- the starkest Madness
    6. Re:Beware the evils of contraception by bluevector · · Score: 1

      Tobias addressed Sarah as "sister," but as a matter of respect not intended to denote immediate blood-relations. In fact, if you read the Book of Tobit you will find that Sarah's father is a cousin of Tobias's father, making Sarah one of Tobias's cousins, though it is not indicated how close or distant a cousin she is. The beauty of this Scriptural passage is that it teaches us how even marital sexuality is not to devolve into lust.

      --
      IC XC NIKA
    7. Re:Beware the evils of contraception by An+Onerous+Coward · · Score: 1
      it teaches us how even marital sexuality is not to devolve into lust.
      You're like a real life Ned Flanders.

      "Reverend, I... I think I'm coveting my own wife!"
      --

      You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!

    8. Re:Beware the evils of contraception by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You should blog that.

    9. Re:Beware the evils of contraception by MaerD · · Score: 1

      ... While I don't intend to feed the troll, am I the only one who's having Monty Python flashbacks here?

      Every sperm is sacred.
      Every sperm is great.
      If a sperm is wasted,
      God gets quite irate.

      Feel free to sing along!

      --
      I put on my robe and wizard hat..
    10. Re:Beware the evils of contraception by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why would they need mercy if what they were doing was okay?

  26. Worst. Story Suggestion. Ever. by CheshireCatCO · · Score: 1

    OK, the article was just fine, but I think that the story suggestions off to the side need reconsideration. "The Humble Banger: the secret life of the British sausage" just seems like it's pushing it on this particular story, doesn't it?

  27. So it works! by BillX · · Score: 1

    Can't get pregnant if you can't get laid...

    --
    Caveat Emptor is not a business model.
  28. Re:Ah, oblig Simpsons ref by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Homer: It's Viagra-Gain. It gives you lots of hair and what you need down there. What are you waiting for, loser?

    Announcer: Possible side effects include loss of scalp and penis.

    Homer: What did it say about my scalp?

  29. Kids by Mark_MF-WN · · Score: 1

    Yeah, but then you'll just buy a lawnba mower robot and it'll be all good. With the new super-realistic love dolls and high-wattage white-noise machines, women are practically irrelevant; now that robots can do chores and computers can waste time and fail consistently, we can dispense with children! All we need now are some quality bots for our multiplayer games that are capable of drinking our beer and spilling chips on our floors, and we'll never need to interact socially ever again!

  30. More protection by Tweekster · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Because if the girl you are with feels safe enough letting you say you are on pill so everything will be fine, probably isnt the type of girl you want to have sex with, without a condom on too.

    --
    The phrase "more better" is acceptable English. suck it grammar Nazis
    1. Re:More protection by Red+Flayer · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Because if the girl you are with feels safe enough letting you say you are on pill so everything will be fine, probably isnt the type of girl you want to have sex with, without a condom on too.
      You mean, we shouldn't want to have sex with a woman who trusts us? My wife was on contraceptives for four years while we were in grad school, until she developed complications from the side effects. I sure wish the male pill had been around back then, it was a very "awkward" two years until we didn't need the contraceptives anymore...

      The pill isn't really meant for people who randomly hook up very occasionally with strangers; it's for people who need regular contraceptives because of frequent intercourse.
      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    2. Re:More protection by Tweekster · · Score: 1

      "The pill isn't really meant for people who randomly hook up very occasionally with strangers; it's for people who need regular contraceptives because of frequent intercourse."

      Right....

      --
      The phrase "more better" is acceptable English. suck it grammar Nazis
    3. Re:More protection by Inoshiro · · Score: 1

      "I sure wish the male pill had been around back then, it was a very "awkward" two years until we didn't need the contraceptives anymore..."

      Right, because condoms aren't easy to use and cheap, nor is it easy to get used to 69ing, or any of the multitude of other ways of experiencing sexual gratification with someone...

      --
      --
      Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
    4. Re:More protection by Red+Flayer · · Score: 1

      Condoms are awkward. Even though easy to use and cheap, they are still awkward -- they totally disrupt the flow of the act.

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
  31. Women would be crazy... by jasontromm · · Score: 1

    to trust a guy who says, "Trust me baby, I'm on the pill." Seems like this is a pointless development, because smart women won't trust the guys they hook up with the be telling the truth.

    --
    "Politicians always tell the truth, when they're calling each other liars."
    1. Re:Women would be crazy... by ElleyKitten · · Score: 1

      Well, it will stop men from bitching "She said she was on the pill! She trapped me!" because everyone will just ask him "Why weren't you on the pill?"

      --
      "What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
    2. Re:Women would be crazy... by DragonWriter · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Well, it will stop men from bitching "She said she was on the pill! She trapped me!" because everyone will just ask him "Why weren't you on the pill?"


      "Because she said she was on the pill, so I didn't need to be."

      I mean, its the same response used now to "Why didn't you use a condom?"

      Its hardly like we live in a situation now where people of either sex don't have adequate tools in most normal circumstances to fairly reliably prevent pregnancy. OTOH, if this becomes popular, I'd expect to see an upswing in STDs as condom use falls.
    3. Re:Women would be crazy... by despisethesun · · Score: 1

      The catch there is that condoms reduce the sensations of sex, making it less pleasurable. Granted, condom sex is still better than no sex, and I personally would use one in any situation where I didn't trust the woman I was with (for more reasons than just pregnancy), but most guys are more worried about pregnancies than STDs and "I'm on the pill" is good enough to keep them from using one.

      I agree, though, we'll probably see more STD infections after this hits the market as guys switch to "the male pill" instead of condoms.

      --
      This poo is cold.
  32. Right... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because there aren't any people in monogamous, trusting relationships that don't want to have children.

    Not everybody is out for a one-night stand, you know.

  33. What's wrong with weed and scotch? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm not sure if I've mixed the two, but I mix weed and wine or beer all the time.

  34. Every Guy should use this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I fully endorse the idea of the male pill. The only problem I could see is the increase in STD's because of a decrease in condom use. I would use this pill just to avoid the case where a girl shows up saying the guy is the father, later proven false, but the judge requires the first guy to keep paying child support because he doesn't want to hurt the child. If this becomes popular I wonder how many men would be saved from forced marriages, how many women will not get pregnant by their lovers but tell their husband the child is his, and how many unwanted pregnancies could be avoided. Although with male testosterone levels on the decline, this pill may not be needed in a couple of years.

  35. Empowerment to women? WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Think about your own words for a second. How exactly does the male pill empower women? Women already got plenty of contraceptives wich for the fast majority do work especially if combined with the condom wich you should use in any case because of diseases.

    The girl you mention already had all the various methods of protection and she obviously didn't use them on no less then 3 different occassions. What the fuck makes you think that adding one more method of birth control but one 100% under the control of the male (who does not get pregnant nor gets stuck with taking care of the kid) with no way of checking it by the female (fake patches, lying about it, etc etc) is going to do anything positive for women?

    In fact feminists are starting to realize that the whole sexual revolution on the whole has not left women better off. Yes more widespread birthcontrol has meant that women are no longer baby machines, a recent short article in a dutch free newspaper about the religions in holland (christian, jews and muslims) had a bit about how catholics used to be forced to have extremely large families until as one mother put it her body was just used up and her doctor finally permitted her and her husband to practice abstinence.

    The pill, and more important even, the acceptence of the use of birth control in general has liberated women from the constant task of producing kids. BUT it has also liberated men into being able to fuck all they want without risk. Women turned from baby machines to sex machines. Oh granted, women can have all the sex they want too. Just that they are called sluts while men turn into studs, even in this age this holds true.

    The male pill gives the male even more power to see females as nothing but sextoys. The condom already gave him that but lots of men don't like them, especially the ones most likely to get a girl pregnant and then leave her.

    It gets worse, the male pill does not like the condom protect against disease. The girl insisting on a condom against pregnancy will now be told that he has taken care of it (has he? or is that a fake patch) and she will have one less argument for safe sex and lets face it. Women already have proven they are not terribly good at insisting on protection now.

    Offcourse unlike the condom wich can be checked for functionality (its on, it protects) the male pill is just a patch, presuming the female even knows this (male pill makes you think it is a pill, not a patch) so how is she to check wether he has really taken it, or taken it correctly?

    No, this patch is good news for men who absolutly do not want to get a girl pregnant but these guys would already been using condoms as responsible partners should.

    It won't do shit for teenage pregnancies because the women who get pregnant now already had plenty of options to prevent it. Instead relying on the same male to prevent it instead is just not going to work. Sorry mate, but the guys who get girls knocked up and leave them just ain't going to be using this patch for the same reason they do not use condomes now. They are assholes and the women they are with are dumb.

    Women preferring to date guys who wear patches. Yeah right. What next. young women actually preffering realiable trustworthy guys with steady jobs over the assholes that use them and leave them? Sorry kid, but if you are the kind of guy in college who wears a patch then you are going to be as succesfull as any sensible responsible male with women. In short, skip on the patch and buy a box of kleenex and a playboy and wait till your old enough and get the 25-30 year women who have been used up and now are so desperate they will even consider a looser like you.

    1. Re:Empowerment to women? WTF? by Hork_Monkey · · Score: 1

      It looks like somebody needs a nap.

  36. It's against evolutionary drive... by rleibman · · Score: 1

    This more than anything will make it hard for a male pill to ever work, men know it and women know it: Women's drive is to have babies when it is best, when they've found a partner to help them with the decades it takes to raise a child, etc. Men's drive is (mostly) to have as many as possible with as many women as possible. Single women know this, and are thus less likely to trust a man's word that he's on the pill.
    Of course... we are human, which means that evolutionary drive is not the only thing that matters, but it is there nevertheless. In the words of Steve Vai... we may be humans, but we're still animals.

    1. Re:It's against evolutionary drive... by ElleyKitten · · Score: 1

      It'll be useful for single men who don't know for sure if their partners are on the pill (yes, they should use condoms, but people are dumb and backups are good anyways), and it will be useful for couples where the woman can't take the pill, or who want a backup to hers. More options when it comes to reproductive choice is good for everyone.

      --
      "What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
    2. Re:It's against evolutionary drive... by despisethesun · · Score: 1

      Men's drive is (mostly) to have as many as possible with as many women as possible.

      Men generally want to have sex with as many women as possible, but I don't know too many who want to have children with all of those women. The threat of child support payments do a pretty good job of mitigating that evolutionary drive for most guys.

      --
      This poo is cold.
    3. Re:It's against evolutionary drive... by rleibman · · Score: 1

      And then I think of the Dr. in the fertility clinic who impregnated countless women with his own seed. People do stupid things. People who are stupid also are more likely to let their animal drives take over regardless of future consequence. Anyway, the point is that if I was a woman I would never trust a guy who told me he was on the pill, less so than me, being a man, would trust a woman who says the same thing. But I agree with the other answer, more choice is a good thing. For me, and to make sure, it was snip snip after I was done breeding.

  37. One small problem I can see... by HarbingerKtS · · Score: 1

    If nicotine patches don't stick, how reliable is the adhesive on these going to be, and what happens when they fall off?

    1. Re:One small problem I can see... by witte · · Score: 1

      That's what staplers are for.

  38. oh goody! by Wizzerd911 · · Score: 0

    oh joy, they've just solved one of the worst problems in biological history. Now men won't get pregnant ;) Hmm maybe it's not really the male version of "the pill" after all lol.

    --
    Is it just me or is it not going to upgrade to Vista in here?
  39. Be careful what you ask for by jonskerr · · Score: 1

    Before making blanket declarations, read the third item here:
    http://www.youaredumb.net/node/691

    to speed things up here's the text:
    >>
    For people confused by the last line of yesterday's column, the short version is, three dipshit teens in rural Wisconsin got caught digging up a recently-buried corpse so that they could have sex with it. They'd bought condoms and everything, because embalming fluid, I presume, has nasty side effects on your pubescent crank. If you have an erection that lasts INTO THE AFTERLIFE, consult your doctor.

    The incident raises all sorts of fascinating questions about the teens in question - did one of them come up with the idea? If so, what rhetorical powers must he posess to have talked his other two friends into it? What kind of forethought sends you to Wal-Mart for rubbers beforehand, without also providing the realization that digging up a body is a long, exhausting process?

    But that's all trumped by the revelation that a judge dismissed the attempted sexual assault charges against them, because Wisconsin has no laws about necrophilia. Like the many sordid times in the past we've learned too late about states lacking laws on bestiality, it seems. I'm not sure if it's simple oversight, or a tricky legal boundary - a corpse is really neither a person nor property, after all.

    Perhaps this case will cause the Wisconsin legislature to reconsider. But until then, Wisconsin is the place to be if you're into le rigor petit mortis. For the rest of us, however, given both this and the last time Wisconsin's sexual deviancies found their way into this column, I would suggest that whatever you do, DON'T ORDER THE VEAL.

    --
    O~ Him that studies revenge keeps his own wounds green. -- Francis Bacon
    1. Re:Be careful what you ask for by rts008 · · Score: 1

      Wisconsin, huh?

      I think I'm giving up cheese.
      Too scary to contemplate. If the state's teens feel the need for COld Etheyl(sp? ref:Alice Cooper), who can argue?

      --
      Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
  40. The Battle of the Sexes by Pfhorrest · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I keep seeing comments here to the effect that "no woman will or should trust a man that he is on the pill".

    That's not the point of there being a male pill. The point is that men no longer have to trust women to be on the pill. If a guy is on the pill, he doesn't have to worry that the woman will say she is on the pill and then go off it, trapping him into supporting a child that he never wanted to gave. Imagine switching the gender roles there: say there was only male contraceptives, and the man says he's on the pill, but he wants a kid, so he stops taking his bill, and yay, now he's got a baby and a mom to take care of it, too! But what if the woman didn't want kids yet? "Well then... she should have been having sex, should she? It's her own fault for chasing cock," someone in this bizarro world might say.

    But most of us (besides the abstinence-only types) would think that was a ridiculous response. She engaged in an activity trusting her partner's word that certain consequences would not occur because of measures he had taken. When he fails to take those measures, it's not her fault for trusting him and engaging in the activity, it's his fault for failing to keep his promises. Switch the pronouns here so it's a woman reneging on her word instead and the situation is not different, but plenty of people will harp on a man and say "well you should have kept it in your pants".

    Even setting aside these issues of trust, the man being on the pill *and* the woman being on the pill is extra backup in case one of them should simply forget.

    The point of this isn't that the burden of birth control can now be shifted to the men and women don't have to take the pill. The point is that now men have a way of making sure that they don't get someone pregnant that they don't want pregnant. If a woman also wants to make sure that she doesn't get pregnant when she doesn't want to, she can take her pill too. In a couple where both people don't want kids and so both are on the pill, extra protection in case one fails or is simply forgotten. In a couple where the woman may want a kid and try to trick the man into giving her one (and subsequently supporting it), or perhaps where the woman is just forgetful (as everyone can be sometimes), the man now has a means of protecting himself, instead of just relying on the woman.

    --
    -Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
    "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
    1. Re:The Battle of the Sexes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "The point of this isn't that the burden of birth control can now be shifted to the men and women don't have to take the pill. The point is that now men have a way of making sure that they don't get someone pregnant that they don't want pregnant."

      Have you ever heard of a condom? Works pretty well actually....

    2. Re:The Battle of the Sexes by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 1

      Dear coward:

      I hope that you read this. You are going to get into trouble.

      Condoms do not work as well as The Pill. That is quite incorrect and a common misconception. Each method of birth control has a percentage chance of failure based on complexity, user requirements, and type of barrier. The Pill has a very small percentage of failure - something like 1%. Condoms have an 11% failure rate. Check out the FDA's list:

      http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1997/babytabl.htm l

      --

      ---
      ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
    3. Re:The Battle of the Sexes by Pfhorrest · · Score: 1

      "The point of this isn't that the burden of birth control can now be shifted to the men and women don't have to take the pill. The point is that now men have a way of making sure that they don't get someone pregnant that they don't want pregnant."

      Have you ever heard of a condom? Works pretty well actually....


      And women have diaphragms too, why don't they use them more often? A pill is much more convenient for many people.

      Men now have another way of making sure they don't accidentally get someone pregnant.

      Condoms are important where STDs are a concern. For men, condoms are also important where the trustworthiness or forgetfulness of your partner (who is ostensibly on the pill) may be a problem. This new pill eliminates the second of those concerns. If your circumstances are such that STDs aren't a concern (clean, monogamous couple, etc), you may no longer need to use condoms, and can (as the man) be extra safe in case the woman won't intentionally or accidentally lapse on her birth control.

      --
      -Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
      "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
    4. Re:The Battle of the Sexes by RealmKeeper1000 · · Score: 1

      Wow someone has the concetp right. I have know about the research now for +/- 3 years (first heard it on Radio Netherlands). Hey look, a lot still needs to be done, but the idea is there.

      At least I will get more space on my cellphone (mobile for the other people) not having to keep numbers for 2 years.

      :P "con-dems" don't work! (15% tear rate) :P

  41. Thank you... by Svartalf · · Score: 1

    And even then, with everything right, the testing, the right lube, etc. It can still develop a pinhole through the act of sex anyhow- and agains, you lose control over the situation, but have all the responsibility, etc.

    Sad, isn't it, that people just think that using a condom will actually "protect" them; it'll do it most of the time- MOST OF THE TIME.

    --
    I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
  42. I really hope they get that gel patch working by DeepZenPill · · Score: 1

    From the first article:
    "In men the drug would have to be taken as an implant rather than an oral pill as it is broken down in the digestive tract."

    Good luck with that one. They better get it working in a gel form or no man will bother with this one either.

    1. Re:I really hope they get that gel patch working by man_ls · · Score: 1

      Assuming it can be implanted somewhere that won't cause a problem in my daily life, I don't have any issue with a subcutaneous dose of some time-release medication if it means infalliable no-effort birth control.

      The most likely place -- loose skin under the armpits -- happens to be an uncomfortable place for me, however. I suppose there are a dozen other locations it could be slipped, as well.

      That's the hormonally-based one, the new approach tested in rats binds a destructive enzyme to a hormone that naturally travels to the testes, keeping it from going rampant around your body and keeping sperm from attaching to the structures which maintain them before they end up inside your partner's body. Result being, sperm don't make it out alive.

      As soon as the solution is released onto the market, I'll be on it -- whatever said solution is.

  43. Why bother with all that? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Just come up with a pill to make semen taste like chocolate.

  44. Wow, talk about a new way to be an asshole by clambake · · Score: 1

    "Don't worry babay, I'm on the patch..." except he's not. Oh man there will be some serious assholes breeding kids out there.

    1. Re:Wow, talk about a new way to be an asshole by Scarletdown · · Score: 1
      "Don't worry babay, I'm on the patch..." except he's not. Oh man there will be some serious assholes breeding kids out there.


      In that case, Plan C (since by the time she realizes she's knocked up, it would be too late to get a prescription for Plan B)...

      *** Ring-ring-ring... *** "Hello. Planned Parenthood? I'd like to schedule an abortion to get rid of this parasite some lying asshole implanted inside me."

      --
      This space unintentionally left blank.
  45. The Real Advantage by keytoe · · Score: 2, Insightful

    There is one aspect nobody is seeing with this - and it's the real advantage as far as I'm concerned.

    Women have terribly complex hormonal systems. The female pill works by fiddling with that normally balanced system. Fiddling with the hormonal balance of a woman is generally not a good thing. In addition to the physical side effects and possible health risks involved, there are a whole raft of psychological repercussions.

    On the other hand, male hormonal cycles are much less complex - and it doesn't even sound like this particular treatment is hormone based at all. For the sake of my relationship with my wife, I will happily be the one to submit to side effects rather than her taking the pill and possibly losing all desire for sex anyway.

    As someone else posted, this kind of thing is intended for long term relationships that require contraception - not necessarily for casual accident prevention. For that, I recommend my Mandatory Vasectomy At Birth program (you're free to reverse the procedure with your own money at any time).

  46. Just in case anyone takes this seriously.. by schmiddy · · Score: 1

    I know this "Male Pill" at best won't hit the market for a few years, and possibly never will.. but just in case some of you have been living under rocks for the past 20 years, and take the 'Insightful' parent seriously -- Don't have unprotected sex with strangers. Wear a condom. You might have heard of STDs, though the topic doesn't seem to come up on /. very often for some reason.

    If you know that both you and your lady have recently tested clean, then you can start worrying about birth control or Male Pill or whatnot.

    --
    http://cltracker.net -- powerful craigslist multi-city search
    1. Re:Just in case anyone takes this seriously.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ever hear of condom failure? I completely agree that you should never have unprotected sex with a stranger without serious paperwork involved, but that by itself is no reason not to take birth control (for either gender!) in addition.

  47. Physes, not epiphysis by spineboy · · Score: 1

    Technically the physis is where the bone grows, and the epiphysis is the area between the physis and the joint. The metaphysis is on the other side of the physis, heading towards the center of the bone, and the diaphysis is right in the center.

    Like so.
    Joint Epiphysis/Physis/Metaphysis/Diaphysis/Metaphysis/p hysis/epiphysis/joint.

    --
    ..........FULL STOP.
  48. Mowing the lawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I haven't mown our lawns for 6+ years. I don't even own a lawnmower. Hiring somebody to do it for me every 2 weeks was a great deal.

    1. It's cheap
    2. The lawn always looks tidy (compared to when I do it when I have time, which is irregularly)
    3. I get to pay some money to somebody who has less money than me.
  49. +1, informative by nido · · Score: 1

    Women are only fertile for a couple days a month, and it's relatively easy to know when if you know what to look for. Morning temperature spike, change in the mucus texture, etc.

    I gave a Natural Family Planning book to a friend/acquaintance as a wedding gift some years back, because she didn't want any children ever. (I finished highschool at a catholic school, and was thus exposed to the practice.)

    --
    Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
    www.teslabox.com
    1. Re:+1, informative by ElleyKitten · · Score: 1
      Women are only fertile for a couple days a month, and it's relatively easy to know when if you know what to look for. Morning temperature spike, change in the mucus texture, etc. I gave a Natural Family Planning book to a friend/acquaintance as a wedding gift some years back, because she didn't want any children ever. (I finished highschool at a catholic school, and was thus exposed to the practice.)
      If I never wanted children, ever, I'd just get my tubes tied and be done with it. I've tried NFP, not as birth control but to know my body better, and it's a hassle. Every morning you have to wake up at the same time, check your temperature, check yourself (why do we have to call it mucus? do we want people to be grossed out by it?), and fill out the little calendar, which you have to interprete. Get a cold? Don't get enough sleep? Body decides to be weird this month? And you're left clueless. NFP is a unreliable hassle that I wouldn't recommend to anyone.
      --
      "What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
  50. Re:Idiots [and the US gene pool improves] by whoppers · · Score: 1

    thank you for your contribution

  51. You sir, are looking for Semenex by themusicgod1 · · Score: 1
    --
    GENERATION 26: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
  52. Parent is aware of the game, but... by themusicgod1 · · Score: 1

    doesn't seem to know how to play.

    If you want to win at the game, you must aquire a bunch of money. Lots of money. Then you will have absolutely no problem with the women. Other stuff may offer you temporary advantages, but hands down, money for the win. You want "the key" to being in that "very few" who get any? The key is solid gold. Black gold that is.

    --
    GENERATION 26: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
    1. Re:Parent is aware of the game, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, money is the trump card. The general rule is that men fantasize about sex, and women about lifestyle. They also don't date lower on the social ladder than themselves, which is important to remember.

      That said, just being capably employed and visibly motivated (though not over the top Type A) is good enough. To be honest, I find most women to be so desperate, they're willing to overlook a lot in a guy.

  53. money by themusicgod1 · · Score: 1

    With the money you'd save from not having to raise kids, you could hire someone. At union wages, no doubt.

    --
    GENERATION 26: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
  54. Or... by themusicgod1 · · Score: 1

    Robots. This wasn't an issue 10-12 years ago..but for those guys out there thinking this over right now, We're talking 2016-2018 here. We have vacuuming robots, we should see lawnmower robots in a decade or few.

    --
    GENERATION 26: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
    1. Re:Or... by Sparr0 · · Score: 1

      The Future Is Now.

  55. maybe by themusicgod1 · · Score: 1

    if you hadn't spent your days working 9-5 to raise kids, you could afford to retire on your own labour, including medical and living accomodations?

    And if you can't afford to retire on your own labour AND you didn't have kids then maybe that's a GOOD thing?

    --
    GENERATION 26: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
  56. MOD PARENT UP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Great post! Next time, though, I'd suggest you used blockquotes instead of italics.

    Why is it that people see that there's something wrong with bulimia, but not contraception? They're pretty similar phenomena, except that one is an abuse of the digestive system and the other an abuse of the reproductive system...

    1. Re:MOD PARENT UP by bluevector · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the tip; I had forgotten about the blockquote tag. I agree with your drawing a comparison between bulimia and contraception, I've done so myself in other conversations about this subject.

      --
      IC XC NIKA
    2. Re:MOD PARENT UP by ElleyKitten · · Score: 1
      (Replying to you since the other guy is anonymous)

      Why is it that people see that there's something wrong with bulimia, but not contraception? They're pretty similar phenomena, except that one is an abuse of the digestive system and the other an abuse of the reproductive system...
      I agree with your drawing a comparison between bulimia and contraception, I've done so myself in other conversations about this subject.
      Bulimia and contraception? There's a comparison!

      Let's see... bulimia, when untreated, makes you sick and kills you. Contraception is a relatively safe medication (compared to other medications, and to pregnancy risks).

      Should we compare bulimia with other medications? Is my asthma medication an abuse of my respitory system? It certainly isn't natural, and it has worse side effects and risks than contraception. And don't say that asthma is a problem and pregnancy isn't - first of all, pregnancy can be a problem, second of all, birth control pills help with other reproductive problems, which is why my friend was on them when she was a virgin.

      The comparison of cotraception and bulimia is stupid, and I hope you think about it long enough to understand that.
      --
      "What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
    3. Re:MOD PARENT UP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Great, two morons in one thread. Why don't you two thumpers make a murder/suicide pact and LET THE REST OF US ALONE!!!

    4. Re:MOD PARENT UP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The comparison to be made between bulimia and contraception is that they're both attempts to make use of one of your body's "systems" for pleasure only, preventing it from functioning normally in order to avoid the natural consequences for which the system was designed. Thus, some people who don't want children have sex but use contraception, and some who don't want to gain weight eat but vomit what they've eaten.

      What the Church proposes is that we act in accordance with how God designed our bodies, instead of trying to circumvent God's intention. In order to not have children, one restricts the times of the month during which one has sex. Similarly, in order to lose weight, instead of vomiting what one eats, one should restrict what one eats.

    5. Re:MOD PARENT UP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The reason I don't leave you alone is that I care about you and don't want you to go to hell for misusing God's gifts.

  57. Yet Another Male Pill Promise by skeptictank · · Score: 1

    Every 5 years one of these stories about a male pill that is going to be available shortly hits the various media outlets. They have all failed human trials for the last 20 years.

  58. MOD PARENT WAY UP! by Brightest+Light · · Score: 1

    It happened to my brother (girlfriend told him she was on the pill but was not), my grandfather (the pill + antibiotics = my uncle), four of my male friends (similar situations and 2 of them simply had drunken unprotected sex), and I've seen three of my female friends perpetrate it (one of them wanted to cash in on the rich guy she was dating, the other just wanted a child, and the third wanted to get married....guess what? they're all single mothers now, and their 'baby-daddies' have been granted the privilege of paying hundreds of dollars every month in child support).

    Like Oswald said: young men, protect yourselves.
    That *cannot* be emphasized enough.

    No offense intended to the ladies; but guys, you simply cannot trust your woman to not get pregnant, because that's what female humans are designed to do. Whether by accident or design, you'll be stuck with the responsibility of a child you may or may not be ready to deal with. In many states, if you fail to pay your child support, you go to jail. Seriously.

    Use condoms, use them right. Know the risks of what you're doing and BE CAREFUL. No condom, no sex. Period. EOF

  59. still a stupid gamble by r00t · · Score: 1

    Just do the math. For example, wikipedia says the condom has a 15% failure rate per year in actual real-world usage. That is a 0.85 probability of success. Suppose you are sexually active with fertile women from age 18 to age 53, for a total of 35 years. Raise 0.85 to the 35th power, and you get 0.0034, meaning a 0.34 percent chance of avoiding pregnancy. You're nearly certain to get a kid.

    Oh, you'll do better. You'll get sterilized. Well, that's still a 5% risk of pregnancy. Taking a 5% risk is fine if the potential negative outcome is small. It's not fine when the result is an unwanted kid. Note that this doesn't cover the STDs, including permanent things like herpes, hepatitis, etc.

    Suggestion: if you like sex, learn to like having a large family and learn to like a woman who will want to keep you.

    1. Re:still a stupid gamble by tempmpi · · Score: 1

      Well, condoms are really not such a good long time method, however most slashdoters should be smart enough to get much smaller failure rates. A huge amount of condom failures are related to doing stupid things like clueless people trying to do their own kind of NFP. ("I think you can't get pregnant right after your period, lets fuck without condom")

      If you having sex getting her pregnant is nearly always a possibility. It is pretty unlikely in the short term if you use the pill, IUD or sterillisation well.

      --
      Jan
    2. Re:still a stupid gamble by James+McGuigan · · Score: 1

      How exactly is "lets fuck without condom" a condom failure?

  60. jail by r00t · · Score: 1

    Dear my. It sounds like "debtor's prison", which went out of style centuries ago, is now back in fashion.

  61. an acheivement test will do by r00t · · Score: 1

    Let's see...

    1. statistics (lottery payoff, familiarity with a few different distributions...)
    2. basic microeconomics and macroeconomics
    3. consumer contracts (car or home lease or loan, ISP service, hospital admission...)
    4. sanitation (food safety, STDs, animal waste, surface contamination...)

    Understand that, and you get to breed.

  62. Submit /. to FDA for use as birth control by jeremyclark13 · · Score: 1

    As everyone knows the most effective birth control is a simple click away to /. land, now if that could only be put in pill form.

    I called it first I'm going to get all the money, no one else can have it.

    It's my idea, mine I tell you, MINE.

    --
    Don't you hate glorious self-promotion? Visit my Blog
    1. Re:Submit /. to FDA for use as birth control by NevDull · · Score: 1

      Sorry, but there's simply too much prior art for you to be granted a patent.

    2. Re:Submit /. to FDA for use as birth control by jeremyclark13 · · Score: 1

      Can I atleast have some of the money.

      Come on

      How about 3 bucks?

      --
      Don't you hate glorious self-promotion? Visit my Blog
  63. Re:I overheard a girl saying the pill didn't work. by Cha$e · · Score: 1

    Actually the (female) pill can be taken that way for a few days at a time, if the user is sick and vomitting, or for some other reason can't keep it down. Better option than lapsing longer than you're "allowed" to and then having to abstain until next month.

  64. Mod Parent Up, Please by Cha$e · · Score: 1

    Well put, Keytoe. And, ditto. This new therapy absolutely won't work for the "hooking up" crowd. But yeah, my wife also has tons of negative side effects from The Pill, and has pretty much run out of different brands to try. If this Male Pill were on the market, I'd go out and get it today, to see if just maaaaaybe it would be a better solution for us overall.

  65. Chocolate, not Pumpkin Pie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    just a clarification

  66. OK, But Where Is The Male Morning After Pill? by John+Hasler · · Score: 1

    Well, where is it?

    --
    Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.