A first-of-its-kind male contraceptive pill is being tested in the UK. It is a promising drug that puts more power in men's hands to prevent unwanted pregnancy with high reliability and so far few reported side effects. The trials seek to answer one basic medical question: Is this drug safe and effective? But manufacturers are undoubtedly interested in something else: will men accept it?
The overwhelming share of responsibility for preventing pregnancy has always fallen on women. Throughout human history, women have gone to great lengths to prevent pregnancies they did not want and to terminate pregnancies they could not prevent. Safe and reliable methods of contraception are still extremely new in the context of how long women have sought to terminate conception. However, measured by the life expectancy of anyone reading this article, they are well established and have been a normal part of life for millions of women around the world for many decades, the Guardian reported.
To some extent, if only for obvious biological reasons, it stands to reason that in the past pregnancy prevention was the burden of women. But also, as they say, it takes two to tango, and only one partner was doing all the work. Fortunately, things are changing: thanks to generations of women who gained unprecedented freedoms and planned their families using highly effective methods of contraception, and thanks to men who changed their own gender expectations and became more involved partners and fathers, women and men came closer to parity than ever before.
Especially among politically progressive couples, it is now standard to expect that the male partner will do his share of running the household and raising the children (whether he actually does is a separate matter, but the expectation is there). What men usually cannot do is carry a pregnancy and give birth to children.
So, for years women have been wondering when modern medicine will allow men to at least do their part in planning these babies and preventing misplanned or unwanted pregnancies. Now that the moment seems close, the male contraceptive will be another test of whether heterosexual men are actually ready to take on the shared responsibilities of adult life, or are content to let women do all the work of controlling when and if they reproduce.
Few inventions in modern history have changed lives and society as much as the birth control pill. The ability to prevent unintended pregnancy and thus interrupt women's lives in education, work, finding a partner and almost every other aspect of adult life is revolutionizing opportunities and outcomes for women around the world. In countries where women were first able to obtain birth control pills, gender equality has greatly improved: women have entered university campuses and started working; the age of first marriage has risen and the average number of children has fallen; women and their children lived longer, healthier and more educated lives; national economies have benefited from many more women in the workforce.
These patterns are now replicated globally, and the links between access to contraception and better outcomes in education, the economy, gender equality and health are so well established that increasing access to contraception is now a central cornerstone of any program for development.
Contraceptive options have expanded significantly beyond the pill to include patches, implants, and injections. Intrauterine contraceptives are among the most effective forms of contraception and, together with better access to other contraceptives, mean that more women today than at any time in human history can determine their own lives: go to school, to marry for love, to live alone, to go on adventures, to work for pay, to live independently.
Being able to plan the family has also meant that children are doing better than at any time in history. They live longer, are healthier, go to school more often and suffer less from a number of diseases. Men have also benefited greatly from the contraceptive revolution, and not just because it's much easier than ever to have sex for pleasure. Countless men have avoided unintended or unwanted fatherhood, have had the opportunity to partner or marry out of love rather than obligation, have benefited financially from female partners who contribute to the family income, and have benefited socially and intellectually from life in a society where women and men are teachers, professors, leaders, colleagues, cultural figures and friends.
Yet when it comes to reproduction, doing it or preventing it, almost nothing is asked of men. For 75 years, women's bodies have borne the brunt of pregnancy prevention. It's women who set their alarms to take pills, grit their teeth through the usually intractable and often excruciating pain of having an IUD inserted, and sometimes deal with the side effects of contraceptive hormones: mood swings, weight gain, bleeding, headaches, nausea etc.
To be clear, many women experience no or only mild side effects that subside quickly. But many women have endured serious discomfort because there were simply no other reliable options.
Many people have wondered when exactly science will catch up with the rapid advances in gender equality and demand that men take some of the responsibility for family planning.
Yes, there are condoms. But this millennia-old technology, which, by the way, is not a male contraceptive, but rather a means that both parties use and that affects the physical experience of both, has its limitations.
Condoms are incredibly effective and are a great all-in-one solution for radically reducing the risk of both sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and pregnancy. But especially for monogamous couples who aren't as worried about STDs, condoms can be uncomfortable. They interrupt intimacy. Many people feel that they make sex less physically pleasurable. And they only work if you use them correctly, which means always having one handy. It's no wonder that a whole bunch of people have preferred the convenience of the pill.
The other option for men: a vasectomy. This is an option that more men should take advantage of, especially if they are done with children. Women's bodies take so many hits when it comes to preventing pregnancy and then carrying it, giving birth, and feeding it; the least men can do is cut their hair a little. In truth, however, many people - including women - are hesitant about even minor surgery and worried about procedures that, while often reversible, are not guaranteed to be so.
Men, like many women, may want to spend the first ten or two years of their reproductive years avoiding pregnancy, then change direction and accept it, and then go back to avoiding pregnancy. And they deserve more opportunities than they have.
The male pill, which is currently being tested, is not the first attempt to create a contraceptive for men. However, it is the first that promises to have no significant side effects. It turns out that many of the things that women regularly endure to prevent pregnancy - mood swings, weight gain - are simply unbearable for the fairer sex.
Good thing most men can't get pregnant - doesn't sound like they could handle it. But if this pill is approved, at least they will have a greater opportunity to be equal participants in their sexual and romantic relationships, and to have more power over their own reproductive futures. This is something women have fought for for generations.
And if this drug is approved, women will gain a lot of useful information about the men in their lives, and specifically about those with whom they are romantically involved: Do these men believe they have an equal responsibility for preventing pregnancy, and are they ready act accordingly? And if that's not the case, are these men the ones women should want to share any part of their sexual, romantic or reproductive lives with?/BGNES
