Slashdot Mirror


Birth Control For Men Edges Closer

ananyo writes "Developing oral contraceptives for men has not gone as swiftly as researchers imagined in the early 1970s; they suggested at the time that a 'male pill' was not far off. But researchers now report a new way to make male mice temporarily infertile. Although the treatment is not ready for human use, the method avoids some of the pitfalls of earlier attempts. The technique appears to have a much more specific action than previous methods: it impairs sperm production by blocking a protein called BRDT. This protein was singled out as a potential therapeutic target five years ago because it only occurs in the testes, where it is required for the division of sperm cells. If the approach proves safe in humans, it would be an improvement over hormone-based methods of male contraception, which are not completely effective and cause side effects such as mood swings, acne and a loss of libido (abstract). On the downside, however, the compound 'shrank the mice's testes.'"

4 of 407 comments (clear)

  1. Eh... by schitso · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Color me a skeptic, I guess, but I'm not too fond of the government's idea of "safe in humans".

  2. Re:Beats paying child support! by epyT-R · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    or you know, we could actually hold women accountable for the implied responsibility that comes with 'my body, my right,' instead of pulling his wallet in, involuntarily. Of course, in this culture, it seems like we can't hold women accountable for anything sexually related without being labeled misogynists..

  3. Re:Beats paying child support! by cffrost · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    or you know, we could actually hold women accountable for the implied responsibility that comes with 'my body, my right,' instead of pulling his wallet in, involuntarily. Of course, in this culture, it seems like we can't hold women accountable for anything sexually related without being labeled misogynists..

    You'd probably run into this problem much less if you quit being a misogynist.

    --
    Thank you, Edward Snowden.

    "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
  4. Re:Beats paying child support! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    If you get a woman pregnant, that's your kid. You need to take care of your kid. Is that too hard a concept to grasp?

    Honestly, yes.

    If we both agreed to have sex but not have a kid, and both did everything we could to prevent it, but an accident happens, there are safe procedures available to end a pregnancy. Take an abortion pill.
    If she decides on her own, against his will, to have a baby, I don't see a reason why anyone has to pay child support then. I'd have a hard time to even consider that my kid. It's her decision and her kid.

    As long as the law doesn't recognize this I'd be happy to use male birth control.