Male Birth Control: New Procedure Is 100 Percent Effective, Reversible

A new birth control procedure shows promising signs of becoming another viable option for people who don't want children now, but may want them some day.

Techcitement points out that the procedure, which is in advanced clinical trials in India, has been found to be 100 percent effective.

One downside -- depending on how you feel about shots -- is that it requires the man receive an injection into the vas deferens with a polymer gel called Vasalgel, after a local anesthetic has been given. The substance works by breaking apart sperm.

The whole procedure takes about 15 minutes and lasts ten years or more and is more easily reversible than a vasectomy.

As the Male Contraception Information Project notes, if a man decides he'd like to have his sperm up and running again, he can get another shot and, within two to three months, the baby-making can commence.

Studies over the last 25 years have reportedly found the procedure is safe to use on both humans and animals.

Researchers are hopeful that the procedure will be on the market in the U.S. by 2015, with clinical trials beginning in 2012. Currently, the process is only available to Indian men involved in the trials.

Clarification: A previous version of this article failed to note the specific anatomical location where male patients receive the birth control injection.

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Comments

[Abi Scott]

27 minutes ago ( 1:49 PM)

As someone suffering from the horrible side effects of the birth control pill, I would love for this male alternative to be available as it so far seems that it doesn't really affect the man the way hormonal female contraceptives do. It's also a lot of pressure for a young woman in a relationship to constantly be terrified of discovering she has become accidentally pregnant.
To reply to some people's comments of women having all control and being able to chose when they want to reproduce, that isn't really the case, is it? Most decent girlfriends and wives wouldn't trick their other halves into fatherhood! At least, I certainly would not.

[The Sizzler]

03:46 PM on 04/12/2013

I'd wait on the results of testing before calling this a miracle, but the results seem promising. Having a weapon in the arsenal that isn't a condom or pulling out is great for everyone involved. Contraception shouldn't be the sole responsibility of women nor should the choices once conception has occurred. This could be a step in the right direction, everyone should be able to take charge of their future.

[Kyle Waal]

08:53 PM on 05/14/2013

Ummm... Did you even read the article? *sigh*
"Studies over the last 25 years have reportedly found the procedure is safe to use on both humans and animals."... "has been found to be 100 percent effective. "
We've seen the results. It says it's at the tail end of the clinical trials. It's just that the health agencies of America and Canada (where I am) take notoriously long to endorse a drug even after it's been tested - Especially Health Canada. Drugs often arrive in the US long before they do here (if they wind up here at all)... At least our drugs (and food) are a bit safer for it, I guess...

[Nicola Anne Jones]

01:23 PM on 04/10/2013

Female Birth Control fails. Imagine being a young woman who is with a partner who has his medical records saying he is sterile. Being on the hormone shot to prevent pregnancy anyway. And then finding out...whoops... that 1 in a Million chance has happened and a baby is on the way.

Nothing is 100% other than abstinence. And for men to say that with this procedure they can laugh at women who claim a mistake happened and they got pregnant is just pure woman hating. The law requires the Father to either sign an affidavit claiming paternity or to take a DNA test.

[Matt Keto]

02:13 AM on 06/12/2013

Abstinence is not 100%, because the vast majority of humans cannot live with abstinence. This is like saying NOT DRIVING IS the only 100% EFFECTIVE FOR PREVENTING ACCIDENTS, well duh.

[ahleesah]

01:27 AM on 04/09/2013

I'm a feminist and I think this is a wonderful idea. It's cheaper than female contraceptives, it doesn't mess around with hormones and unwanted pregnancies and abortion rates would go down. It's a win/win for everyone, in my opinion. Of course women would still use birth control. There's tons of benefits to it. But just imagine how things would change if this was in the U.S.

[farmgirl1420]

09:32 AM on 03/11/2013

They give anesthestic before doing the shot, so any pain should be minimal and a whole lot less trouble and inconvenience than paying for a child with a woman you can no longer stand to even be around. I am a woman and I think women haven't done so well with their choices; over a million abortions a year in the US? Still way too many women looking for their babies' daddies? I don't think single family households have gone down any. After 25 years of studying, they have not found any bad side effects, when the birth control pills definitely have side effects. Any man who had this shot, shouldn't have trouble finding partners amongst women if you told them and if you decide not to tell them, then you can enjoy the look of suprise on their faces when they are trying to get you to pay for support or an abortion.

[Richard Wilcox]

08:48 PM on 03/03/2013

I Am Man Enough To Have This Procedure.

Who Else Is With Me?

[Kyle Waal]

08:55 PM on 05/14/2013

You're also man enough to capitalize every word, apparently. How very butch.

[Richard Wilcox]

06:13 PM on 05/20/2013

thanK yoU foR noticinG mY stylE

[Richard Wilcox]

08:27 PM on 03/03/2013

Will Obamacare pay for this next year?

[Edward von Richthoven]

05:20 PM on 01/25/2013

You've GOT TO BE KIDDING! No one is coming within ten feet of me with that syringe! Besides, most minorities who refuse to use condoms will now be going "raw" and getting all manner of STD, including genital warts, HIV, Hep B, Hep C, and trichomonas, not to mention antibiotic resistant gonorrhea.

[Richard Wilcox]

08:49 PM on 03/03/2013

Aren't you man enough for this?

I certainly am.

[farmgirl1420]

09:40 AM on 03/11/2013

If they are refusing to use condoms they are already going raw, so I don't see where this would make a difference. Unless you meant to say that they are using condoms now out of fear of pregnancy? Okay, that might happen more but with over 1 million abortions being done every year in the US and with over another 1 million pregnancies to single mothers every year in the US, I don't think the condoms are getting much use anway. Honestly, take this decision about pregnancy away from women, we haven't done a good job. As for the pain, they use anesthestics. A whole lot less painful than the dentist because they don't go drilling afterwards.

[Rachel N Lane]

07:59 PM on 01/22/2013

I think many men would find this a great option. Anyone can poke a hole in a condom and any condom can break. Plus guys would never get tricked into raising someone else's baby or paying child support because they know it couldn't be theirs. I don't see why men are scared of getting a shot when they numb the area when dentists do the same thing. Wouldn't 10 years of not having to worry about getting someone pregnant be worth it?

[cw5000]

08:04 PM on 01/23/2013

That is totally correct. I would be interested. I wonder how the law will react since "fathers" are often forced to pay child support to children they didn't produce just because the mother put their name on the birth certificate. It will be interesting to see the reaction.

[Richard Wilcox]

08:28 PM on 03/03/2013

A way to end this would be to require a DNA test of the 'Father' before his name could go onto the birth certificate.

[Richard Wilcox]

08:27 PM on 03/03/2013

I think I am in love.

Marry Me! :P

[Rich Jones]

07:25 AM on 09/17/2012

Every guy should have this .. the the process should only be reversed when he has decided 100% that he is ready - mentally, emotionally and financially - for the massive responsibility of bringing up a child.

Women have had control over their fertility for decades - what do we have more and more of these days .. badly behaved, ignorant children brought up by single mothers. What a great achievement.

How many women have decided unilaterally that it was time to have a child - no matter what the man/boy wanted? Anything from stopping the pill to piercing condoms to self inseminating from the used condom. Sickening behaviour showing no thought for the man or the child - just her own selfish choices.

If every man had this and all of them were fully prepared with all the information required before they finally decided to get it reversed ... can you imagine the impact that will have on the birth rate? (The majority of births to women under 30 are now to single mothers)

The next thing to deal with will be eliminating STDs - identifying who is affected, curing all possible and ensuring that untreatable people only have sex with other people with the same problem ... we could finally have sex without the usual fears and we could have children when both people are ready for the massive life change.

[Tadeus Haninozuka Martyn]

12:40 PM on 10/30/2012

You have some major issues you need to sort out. You fear monger against those suffering with crippling illnesses, and argue that all the women who get pregnant are doing it "spitefully against men." What about the pregnancies that result from rape, or accidental pregnancies after which their partners leave? Women have not only had control over their fertility, but have been placed solely responsible for it, repeatedly shamed when they get pregnant, often with no consequences for the male. This post is rife with patriarchal fallacies. I support the development of a male contraceptive to provide a reasonable alternative to the female dominated market, but the reasons you have provided for such a procedure are absurd. It should be to prevent unwanted pregnancies, unburden women from the requirements of pursuing birth control, and simply to create a dialogue about birth control and sexual activity.

[Ian Ironwood]

12:03 PM on 01/07/2013

It doesn't matter. Once men control their own fertility, the balance of sexual power will shift again. And the major interest in this procedure isn't from already-married fathers considering having another kid -- it's young dudes who want to screw for a decade without having a kid. This is a gift to the Puerarchy.

But the result of this will be an interesting shift, wherein women will compete even harder for the few dudes willing to consider a reversal. You think getting a date (let alone Prince Charming) is hard now? Just wait until he has control over his reproduction, and women have to ask permission to breed.

[Ian Ironwood]

03:00 PM on 03/13/2013

Absurd, hell.  I've gotten over 100 emails from dudes asking for more details -- and NO emails from feminist wives wondering if this would be an acceptable form of birth control for their husbands.  
"Patriarchal fallacies"?  Like the idea that dudes don't want to be dads until they decide to be dads?  And that they would use that reproductive freedom to the fullest?  Please point out the fallacy there.

[Richard Wilcox]

08:24 PM on 03/03/2013

The problem is two fold.

1. Half of the women would not believe a man when he told her that he had had the shot. (And I do not blame them, for I NEVER believe a woman who tells me that she is using birth control.)

2. The other half of women will loose interest in a man who has had the shot. For three generations women have made all of the reductive decisions. No woman should have a baby if she doesn't want to. But the flip side of that coin is a woman decides when she wants to have a baby and with whom, even if a man doesn't want too be a father. Taking all of the reproductive control away from a woman will turn her off in a new york minute.

So, when we men can finally have more than two options for birth control (condoms and abstention) it will be in our best interests to NEVER tell a woman we have had the shot or a vasectomy.

[Andrew Baker21]

11:50 PM on 07/26/2012

If I was straight, I would get this done

[menschmaschine5]

01:19 AM on 07/20/2012

Finally, a reliable method of birth control with potentially no complications! I'm getting this done as soon as it's readily available in the US. I'm 23 years old, and although I definitely am not ready for kids now, I may want them in the future. A vasectomy is too difficult and too expensive to reverse (and the reversal is generally not covered by insurance), and other methods of birth control are just unreliable (I've had condoms break on me before, luckily not resulting in pregnancy, and my girlfriend went off the pill for health reasons long before I met her). I just sincerely hope that the broken medical system in the US won't jack up the price of this very simple procedure beyond the threshold of affordabilty, and that insurance companies will cover it (as it WILL save them money in the long run).

[asxdasd]

05:23 PM on 09/16/2012

What you have to realize is how the machine of the medical system works. The very reason everything is so expensive is because insurance covers so they can get away with it. The reason why insurance is so expensive is because they are expected to cover everything. This is something that should absolutely not be covered by insurance because that will jack up the prices making it impossible to afford unless you have the right insurance, and likewise charges everyone else for your elective surgery. The point of insurance is to help you out in the event of an emergency you cannot afford to pay for. In a world where nothing but that is covered, everything else becomes a lot more affordable.

[Ian Ironwood]

12:06 PM on 01/07/2013

Nah, this beats the hell out of paying for a pill every month. One 10-minute procedure, about $1000, and no possibilities of a baby until I'm 30? HELL yeah! Every dude I know would be able to find the cash for that.

[Jenny Clemmons]

05:47 PM on 07/16/2012

I am a mother of a 17 y/o girl and 2 boys 13 and 11. I am able to make sure my daughter is protected against a unplanned pregnancy but there isn't any option for my boys. Just have to hope they use condoms and pray for the best. I'm not a parent that condones teens having sex but I'm also not stupid enough to believe that they don't. I have often hoped that they would come up with a safe, effective alternative for men and teen boys. I hope the this proves to be safe! I'll be at the doctors with my boys as soon as it is on the market!!!!

[Joey Maumoynier]

10:32 PM on 06/24/2012

When will this be readily available in the USA?

[Richard Wilcox]

08:47 PM on 03/03/2013

Not Soon Enough.

[TheLakeMonster]

01:23 PM on 06/08/2012

I am a man, and I would love to be able to take on the responsibility of birth control. I don't feel that it should solely be a woman's job. My girlfriend and I use condoms, we're monogamous, and we're both STD/STI free. There are still risks though. What if the condom breaks? What do we do if she gets pregnant because we weren't doing everything we needed to be doing? Will we be able to give a child the life it deserves right now? Will we be able to afford the thousands upon thousands of dollars in doctor/hospital bills right now?

Also, the hormones associated with female birth controls really worry us. There always seems to be a huge list of side effects, and I would love to be able to take the worry out of her health. What better way than a quick painless injection that will give us peace of mind for several years, and enable us to ensure we're ready for the responsibilities associated with children.

From what I've read it seems that a lot of men feel the same way. Vasalgel/Risug would be a huge breakthrough in contraception, and I want...I NEED to be a part of that.