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New Male Birth Control Pill Succeeds In Preliminary Testing (time.com)
"A second male birth control pill succeeded in preliminary testing, suggesting that a new form of contraception may eventually exist," reports Time:
The new pill, which works similarly to female contraception, passed initial safety tests and produced hormone responses consistent with effective birth control in 30 men, according to research presented by the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute and the University of Washington at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. (The study has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.) It's early days for the drug -- which has not yet been submitted for approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) -- but co-principal investigator Dr. Christina Wang, lead researcher at LA BioMed, says it's an important step toward effective, reversible male hormonal contraception....
Unlike a 2016 male birth control trial that famously stopped enrolling volunteers early because so many men complained of side effects, none of the men experienced serious problems, and no one stopped taking the drug because of side effects.
Unlike a 2016 male birth control trial that famously stopped enrolling volunteers early because so many men complained of side effects, none of the men experienced serious problems, and no one stopped taking the drug because of side effects.
That goes both ways, actually. When my ~15 year relationship broke up, I got into dating again. I'm a man, and the women I was dating were aged 35-42, and regularly viewing a potential partner as their last chance to have children. Whenever it got to sex (which is not often because I'm no ladies' man), I made super double sure to wear a condom, even though she said she'd be on contraception.
And in my (European) country, you can bet your ass you will pay through the nose for a child that you didn't choose.
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I unfortunately suffered post operation pain and loss of libido and potency that has never gone away despite repeated visits to doctors.
I know I'm in the minority, but I can't in good conscience recommend it to anyone.
OK, but so what? This pill isn't there for women. Women have their own pill. They're able (in civilized parts of the world, including civilized parts of the United States) to make their own reproductory decisions (and where they aren't they should be.)
This pill is for men. The problem it's solving is that men aren't, to some extent, able to have their own veto on reproduction, or at least our options aren't as good. Condoms kinda interfere with the moment and have been known to break, vasectomies are permanent, and so on. Yes, our investment in reproduction may be lesser than that of the woman whose entire body will be hijacked for nine months, but we still are invested in it, we will still be expected (rightly) to give up the next 18-21 years and a sizable amount of income bringing the kid up.
Which, if we want the kid, we will do gladly because believe me fatherhood is a wonderful thing.
Unwanted fatherhood? Not so much.
So, yes, we need a pill too. Not for the sake of the would-be mother, but for the sake of the would-be father. This is a legitimate men's rights issue. I'd like to say it's surprising it's taking this long to bring such a pill into being, but the people who claim to be all about men's rights usually, instead, are whining about paying child support and pretending feminism is preventing them from getting jobs. This is what we'd get if we focused on what we need, rather than focusing on preventing others from getting what they need.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Socialism!
I'm pretty sure when everyone cooperates toward a final goal and yet a single person claims credit and takes ownership and benefits for all the work done by everyone we call it capitalism.