Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Men, would you take birth control pills if they were available?

I ask because it sounds like scientists could be just a couple years away from making birth control pills for men a reality. Here's how they work, according to this article in the Telegraph: The pill "removes a vital protein in sperm that is required for a woman to conceive. So while sperm still get through to the uterus they are unable to fertilise an egg." Scientists think this pill will be 100 percent effective. 

And I have to say, this pill sound like a walk in the park compared to what many women taking BC go through. There are no hormones involved, there are no side effects (as of right now, anyway), and the pill only has to be taken either once a month or once every three months, depending on what dosage you take.

If this pill gets approved and works as advertised, this could be big news. If you're a man looking to avoid having children, what are your options right now? Condoms*, a vasectomy, or finding a woman who is taking birth control of some sort (pill, IUD, etc.), right? Or abstinence or pulling out, or, I suppose, the rhythm method? Some of these options are obviously good and fine, but some are not convenient or always possible or reliable. I think putting the possibility of preventing pregnancy into the hands of individual men and women would be a great thing, as it can help everyone with family planning.

So men, what do you think? Assuming this pill gets FDA approval in this country and all that jazz, would you consider it? Women, what are your thoughts on this pill? Would it help you in your lives and in your family planning? Any concerns, anyone? Do you think the worst of the anti-choicers would target this pill as they do today's birth control pills? (And is anyone else thinking about if this scientist could develop a side-effect-free-100-percent-effective-once-a-month-pill for women??)

This article has a few more scientific details on how this pill would work.

*Condoms, of course are so important in preventing STDs! Use them!


Anonymous said...

Wouldn't this be HUGE? And I'm so interested to see how the anti-choice contingency will react. Curiously, I don't know that I encounter an enormous amount of backlash for condoms...unless I'm just not tuned into it. Could it be because it's acceptable for men to control their reproduction?

Rosie said...

I think it's more that women are the ones who actually get pregnant, so they get all the anti-choice BS when it comes to all things related to birth control. To be sure, there are some stringent anti-choicers out there who are against all forms of contraception, because for them the only reason to have sex is to have kids.

Anonymous said...

This is an excellent idea, let both women AND men have birth control pills. It lowers the risk of having unwanted children even more. Woo hoo!


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