Male Birth Control: Why It May Never Catch On

The Internet seems to like the idea of male birth control, so why has it been slow to get off the ground?

Stories about a new male birth control procedure spread across social media sites over the last few weeks. The procedure, which requires an injection into the vas deferens, has been found to be 100 percent effective, reversible and safe in humans and animals.

The procedure is in advanced clinical trials in India, but it hasn't gotten much funding to help it reach America and the rest of the world.

TechCitement pointed out that the procedure is incredibly cheap, and its effects can last for up to ten years, so big pharmaceutical companies aren't likely to jump at the chance to market it since it won't make them much money.

But The Hairpin posits that there may be another reason for the lack of interest in male birth control.

Writing for the site, Eleanor Ray notes that the most "international validation" the makers of the new birth control procedure have gotten is a "$100,000 Gates Foundation grant to pursue a variation of RISUG in the fallopian tubes as a female contraceptive."

From Hairpin:

WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? Oh, because the male version is too cheap and easy, and the point of birth control is to control women's bodies. Right.

Ray goes on to posit that pharmaceutical companies might be less interested in pursuing male birth control, expensive or not, because of a perceived lack of interest from men.

But not all men are weary of taking on the responsibility of ensuring no unwanted children are produced. Jezebel found a pledge, which asks male signees to promise to use the male birth control procedure if the FDA makes it available.

Here's the pledge below:

I, ______________, do hereby solemnly swear to utilize any FDA-approved male birth control methods, if and when they become available. This includes (but is not necessarily limited to): pills, balms, salves, therapeutic ultrasounds, and, yes, intra-penile injections.

Signed,

_____________

In a 2011 TIME article, Dr. Peter Schlegel, professor and chair of urology at New York Presbyterian Hospital says men would likely be amenable to taking a birth control pill.

“If it doesn’t affect sexual function and it’s reversible, yes,” Schlegel predicted.

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Comments

[Jim Bro]

01:48 AM on 01/09/2013

This article seems to be full of BS. This RISUG is not 100% safe it was originally stopped in india because of bad side effects in stage III testing.

This article seems to be trying to promote this form of birth control.

[wamatt]

05:03 PM on 04/18/2012

The key premise of the article, "No demand", is bogus.

There are over 500 000 Vasectomies done in the US annually.

Since this operation, is reversible, safer, less painful and healthier than a vasectomy, I'd say there is plenty of demand if marketed and funded correctly.

[Geahk Burchill]

10:18 AM on 02/07/2013

Thank you! I've been waiting for them to give me the pill for twenty years! I want a gawddamn CHOICE in my own reproduction.

[stape45]

08:32 PM on 04/17/2012

I've almost forgotten what it's like, to live in a country that actually does things simply because it's what the nation needs. These days, no matter how desperately something may be needed, if the profit margin isn't great enough, it's "skroo U people".

[MissTake1989]

07:58 PM on 04/16/2012

Anal sex is also a 100% effective birth control method.

[Modern and Proud]

02:58 AM on 04/17/2012

And a beautiful source of intense orgasms for women, too.

[Mollyannie]

07:43 PM on 04/16/2012

I have seen several comments that say this would be an injection into the penis. The article states that the injecton would be into the vas deferens, which is in the scrotal sac.

These are the same tubes which are snipped when a man has a vasectomy. Vas-ectomy = removal of a portion of the vas.

So it would be in the same area. Instead of taking something out, they put something in.

[drkvc]

09:55 AM on 04/16/2012

This shows exactly why a health care system based on capitalism alone doesn't work. If we had a single-payer health care system, this would be popular.

However, while birth rates would go down with this method, STD/STI rates wouls skyrocket. Dual-protection education would have to be a high priority -- as it already should be.

[cairsten]

01:13 PM on 04/16/2012

Actually, one of the secondary effects of the birth control would be that it could destroy HIV (and presumably other viruses/bacteria) through the same mechanism that destroys the sperm on their way through the filler agent. So it could actually *lower* male-to-female STI transmission, though they're not as certain about female-to-male.

[supercarrot]

03:24 PM on 04/21/2012

HIV lives in the seminal fluid too. RISUG/vasalgel would not reduce male to female transmission.

the only method that could do that is called the "clean sheets pill" that option is also in the works.

[Exadyne]

09:11 AM on 04/16/2012

You want more of my fellow men to use this, tell them all one simple fact: current female hormonal birth control decreases female libido.
In other words, if you use male birth control in a committed relationship, you'll have more sex. See the men are worried about male birth control affecting their libido (the injection form mentioned doesn't affect it- it is non-hormonal, and can only affect you psychological if you let it) that they forget, the current method many of them is already decreasing the libido of their female partner. Now, anecdotally, I've tended to find the female is already the one with a lower libido in most relationships, so why would you want to decrease it even more?
It was one of the reasons I decided to have a vasectomy, though if this procedure had been available in the US, I'd have done it instead.

[sugarpllumm]

05:27 AM on 04/16/2012

I think that some people are missing a very important part to this...it may sound painful and what not but think of it like this....a young girl has thoughts of becoming sexually active, tells her mom, gets an exam and gets on BC...a young boy tells his parents the same thing, they give him condoms. Young girls are more likely to forget to take the pill or are to lazy. And so we have a boom of teen pregnancy. If a young girl can be on BC why not a young boy. If it were available and my son told me he was thinking about sex I would have this done just as fast as I would have my daughter on BC. (and yes I have 4 kids) You cant blame men or women or young teens for sexual pleasures and developing feelings but we can take every precaution necessary to not bring a child into this world when neither soon to be parents are ready.

[VoiceOfReality2012]

02:41 AM on 04/16/2012

Dont see it catching on in India, where young girls are still stoned to death for having the audacity to be raped, or anywhere else. It would never catch on in the third world countries where its really needed because of the catholic church. They wouldnt allow it. Contraception is a sin. OF COURSE, having more kids than you can feed and allowing then to starve to death, is perfectly okay.

[Julie Chris]

10:20 PM on 04/15/2012

Most men that I've known value their virility too much to be consistent with birth control Besides, when a woman becomes pregnant, it women suffer more of the consequences. I am surprised that more married men aren't up for this.

[CongoMongo]

12:30 PM on 04/16/2012

Wish this had been available 30 years ago. Would have been a lot easier than undergoing a vasectomy. We al;ready had 3 kids and my wife was beginning to have some health issues associted with continual dosage of birth control pills so vasectomy was the easy way out. Wish this had been available. I would suppose that there are lots of couples here in the USA who could benefit from this technology. Gotta break down the lobbyist and drug companies first though since this will cut into their sales of of all those fracking birth control pills and devices.

[tavvie]

06:26 PM on 04/15/2012

Most men are too forgetful and are too opposed to do anything like BC

[lrae2007]

10:57 PM on 04/15/2012

The procedure, which requires an injection into the vas deferens, has been found to be 100 percent effective, reversible and safe in humans and animals.

[fishfolk]

11:13 PM on 04/15/2012

That's why this injection is perfect one shot and it lasts 10 years!

[Jessica Zeigler]

05:07 PM on 04/15/2012

I've seen many people commenting, "Nope, I'd never get a shot in my penis." Really? If you were offered a cheap, effective birth control that lasted 10 years, you'd refuse it because it might hurt a little?

Main birth control options for us uterus-sporting, sexually active people:

-Take a pill every single day at the same time (a hassle, $15-$50 per month)
-Have an IUD inserted into the uterus (painful, $500-$1000, but lasts up to 12 years)
-Have a birth control implant inserted into the arm (lasts up to three years, $400-$800 per insertion, $100-$300 per removal)
-The Depo-Provera shot ($35-$75 per injection, every 3 months)
-The Nuva Ring (insert into vagina once a month, take out after three weeks, $15-$80 per month)
-The patch ($15-$80 per month, if it falls off you must find another form of birth control until the next month)

Every form of birth control comes with its own special batch of side effects. This can include breakthrough periods, nausea, depression, headaches, breast soreness, weight gain, change in sex drive, and higher chances of heart attacks or strokes.

Reminder: Before our first birth control method, we have a pap smear done. Not the most comfortable experience. We are supposed to have this done every year.

We go through a LOT to find and pay for birth control that works for us. An inexpensive shot in the penis for 10 years of birth control? That sounds fantastic.

[Kota Forde]

04:32 AM on 04/16/2012

Thank you very much!

[chitownsocialist]

12:57 PM on 04/16/2012

I hated my BC Pill. Tried a couple different brands and hated them all. Went with condoms. They're cheap, both people can chip in with cost, and the only side effects are an annoying 15 seconds before insertion and your dude lasts longer cuz he can't feel as much. Win!

[DavidJustinLynch]

05:02 PM on 04/15/2012

I had a vasectomy when I was 21. It was the smartest thing I ever did.

[John Hazelton Smith]

11:43 PM on 04/15/2012

Really? any bad side effects or impotence?

[jgarma]

04:42 PM on 04/15/2012

Hey Gents, how 'bout one shot in your testes for 10 years of birth control?

It's true. It exits.

Check out "A New Birth Control Method for Brave Men": http://wp.me/pA04z-Yv

[John Hazelton Smith]

11:45 PM on 04/15/2012

But is it in this country?

[IslamicPacifist]

12:53 AM on 04/17/2012

The feminists would never allow men that power in the US

[sbscrpt]

03:39 PM on 04/15/2012

Has no one else watched children of men?

[Xak999]

07:36 PM on 04/15/2012

"Children Of Men" was a ridiculous film highlighting it's dilemna in only the most basic terms possible in selling the movie to the 18-25 year old single male demographic group. Therefore, it could not be counted on for logic, reason, maturity or responsibility for the premise it suggests (conception becomes extinct and we are down to the last pregnant woman alive). It's thought provoking, yeah, but unreliable in this context.