Birth Control Equality: A Men's Rights issue?

2010-12-20T16:35:13+00:00

I think it's probably a lot easier to work with a woman's system than a man's. We only have one potentially fertile cell to work with at a time (well, usually!) whereas men have millions that are constantly being produced. It's a lot harder. This is why I don't think that birth control is an area of inequality... men and women are not physically equal. Our bodies are different and there's not a darn thing you can do about it. And given that women are the ones who get pregnant, I'm not surprised we have more options. We need them more than you do.

It would be good for men to have more options though. Although I'm not a huge supporter of hormonal birth control...I know way too many women who've had some real problems as a result of taking the pill. I can't imagine it will be much better for men.

jeshkah · 2010-12-20T18:11:31+00:00

As a woman I would love if there were safe, affordable options for men. The drug system just decided in the 50's that because women make babies, they're the ones we have to temporarily sterilize - and also, my personal opinion, I think there is a lot of fear of permanent sterilization for men and birth control. And rightfully so. Unfortunately, these drugs are years off, and can have very dangerous results if not tested adequately.

I think it would be a great thing in use for couples when women have horomone sensitivity and for men who wish to protect themselves from female manipulation.

2010-12-20T14:06:41+00:00

There are male contraceptives under development- google it and see. Biologically it is a much harder problem, and the market potential is probably lower than for female contraception.

I think it is a men's rights issue - giving men a better way of avoiding unwanted pregnancies that they will be held responsible for. It doesn't make my "top ten" list of pressing issues though.

NiceGuysSTFU · 2010-12-20T14:45:23+00:00

They are working on a male pill. You also have the option of getting a vasectomy and utilizing your own condoms.

2010-12-21T04:34:57+00:00

Personally I think the most interesting male contraceptive method on the horizon is RISUG. It currently undergoing Phase III (read final) testing in India. Testing in the US seems to be on track to begin at the end of 2011 leaving the earliest time of general availability in the US as 2015 or later (presumably earlier in India but I can't find an estimate for that).

It's a small injection that coats the inside of your vas (tubes from your testicles basically). The coating effectively kills the sperm as it pass through.

It has no known longterm side effects observed so far and the only observed short time side effect is that some patients get slightly swollen/tender testicles for a short time afterwards (couple of weeks at most). Being non hormonal means that it is much less likely to effect other normal bodily functions.

One injection lasts for around 10 years but it can be reversed at any time if the patient wishes to. It can be topped after the 10 years if the patient wants to continue not having children.

No maintenance or pill to remember to take eliminating loss of effectiveness due to incorrect usage.

Trials so far indicate that it is extremely effective (very important point obviously).

It should be an outpatient procedure and patients should normally be able to resume having sex in about a week.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_inhibition_of_sperm_under_guidance#References

Quazz · 2010-12-20T12:00:55+00:00

As far as I know, they were working on a pill for men, but had to stop research because of lack of people willing to try it.

thetrollking · 2010-12-20T18:48:15+00:00

They created a pill in the 60s and 70s for men. I once found the actual case studies and it was interesting. There have been many attempts and last I checked some companies are still working on it. There are some problems too, a few trials cause long term infertility. But there was this one in the 60s that lasted, in three test stages, into the early 70s. It showed a 75% reduction in sperm in white men and upwards of 80-90% sperm reduction in non white, or caucasion is how it was framed. This was a large study done with the UN. Then for some reason it was simply stopped and buried. One of the interesting things I remember reading in it was how it wasn't permanent and had no long term effects, it simply wasn't within the target range of 98-100% effective. It also went away after not being on it for something like a month or six weeks. Still though, wouldn't you like to have that 75% protection?

If anyone has the study I am talking about please link it. I trolled upon it about two years ago and haven't been able to find it since. If I find it again I will post it. Hell, I will probably email it to some pharmaceutical companies that are and aren't working on a male pill.

If you guys want one then email or write every big pharma company and let them know. We should start a campaign, something like movember. How about we create a month for the male pill and do something similiar to movember. We could call it BCember? Spermuary? Testitober?

kateweb · 2010-12-21T00:12:57+00:00

I recently read about a male contraceptive that works and lasts about 3 months , as I understand it hormonal contraceptives in men have not proven to work well or had sexual side effects that were determentel to them working or continuing the research. google has failed me but I believe the article mention the drug inhibited the production of a vital protein for sperm production having to do with it's outer shell .

As a side note female hormonal BC kinda sucks but I will try and stay away from that side of the topic.

kateingradschool · 2010-12-20T12:06:46+00:00

Correct me if I am wrong but:

Female birth control pills work by adding hormones to their system, but a men's alternative would not be possible through hormones, and would require some type of spermicide/infertility drug which could be potentially dangerous and have lasting side effects.

aetheralloy · 2010-12-20T20:05:02+00:00

As I understand it the issue here is technical not social.

It is much more difficult to make a male birth control pill.

LesHiddins · 2010-12-20T22:37:46+00:00

Thought i'd check in to say fuck yes homie; i would love to be able to take the pill, my understanding is the Chinese are working on something that makes your balls go blank.

fishwish · 2010-12-20T12:13:11+00:00

but in our society today why isn't there a similar option for men?

Because it is still under development and being tested.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3543478/ns/health-sexual_health/

Does anyone know about this?

Just do a google search on the subject. You will find plenty. For the most part, it's always been 10 years away. But I think they are actually close now as they are doing limited clinical testing.

Would an oral contraceptive for men be welcome?

If it works, yes. No more getting trapped or surprised by a woman in a failing relationship.

In terms of it being a Men's Rights issue, this should be at the bottom of our list. It's being developed. We don't need to raise a fuss to get it there.

Title	Birth Control Equality: A Men's Rights issue?
Author	kateingradschool
Upvotes	15
Comments	27
Date	December 20, 2010 11:57 AM UTC (15 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/eoq6x/birth_control_equality_a_mens_rights_issue/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/birth-control-equality-a-mens-rights-issue.1045093 https://theredarchive.com/post/1045093

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