Read the article here: One step closer to a Pill for men?
I was interviewed by the Globe and Mail, Canada’s national paper, about progress towards a male pill.
“A woman decides to go on the Pill in the context of a monogamous relationship, but she also has every right to go on the Pill of her own volition if she’s a sexually active human being. Why would that be any different for a man?” said Tom Matlack, the founder of the Boston-based Good Men Project.
Asked if he would have taken a male Pill were it available during his college years, Mr. Matlack is unequivocal: “Absolutely.” Now married happily with three kids, he said choice is always a good thing.
“I can’t imagine why it would be a bad thing for men to have a choice to shoot blanks. I can’t imagine why it would be viewed as somehow feminizing to men. It’s men taking control of their own destiny.”
I first heard of the mythical male pill about 15 years ago,still no results. Like the myth of male power. So far commentors have been writing under the assumption of marriage or LTR,well why not something as flexible as the female pill, month to month? Of course the morning after pill is not an option, but how about one hour before sex pill? Seems even concepts of liberation for men come with shackles . How could it cost more than the female pill,ever heard of insurance? Another diversion, any diversion will do,just keep those men off track on any helpful… Read more »
Just imagine that your teenage son comes home someday and tell you that his girlfriend is pregnant and she’s keeping the baby. He can forget any dreams of an education, career or anything resembling a normal life. He needs to get a job to stay out of jail and pay his child support.
I might buy and use such a pill, depending on side effects and other considerations. I think it’s a great idea in principle, and I’m all for developing such a thing if it’s reasonably safe. I don’t trust the pharmaceutical companies to have my best interests at heart, so I would still consult my doctor and do a little of my own research beforehand, obviously. I’d prefer one that has gone through the FDA approval process. There is no magical 100% effective pill for anything. If the pill is based on sexual hormones, going on and off of it could… Read more »
This will go a long way towards liberating men from feminist governance and abuse.
Even if a pill isn’t quite as viable or likeable there are other forms of contraception for men out there. I’ve been keeping a bit of an eye on one that’s been in human testing in India for over a decade called RISUG. Its just a simple injection into the vas deferens that will render sperm that pass through unable to fertilize an egg. The first injection can be simply neutralized by a second injection (a compound that will counter act the compound from the first) or it can be left to work for nearly 10 years. After quite a… Read more »
I’ve been keeping a bit of an eye on one that’s been in human testing in India for over a decade called RISUG.
it is amazing how under the radar that test has been. for years ive been wondering when are they going to release the treatment in the west
Well part of it has to do with phama companies in the States simply not wanting to touch it. The little bit of funding researchers have been able to get in the States took years. Or think about it like this. What are the odds of a big pharmaceutical compnay investing in a treatment that only has to used about once every ten years? And another reason is cost. Its estimated that the compound used in the RISUG injection costs about the same, if not less than, the needle/syringe used to inject it. So you’re talking about a $5 injection… Read more »
Very good points Danny, very good points
From the same perspective as women’s reproductive rights issues; men in turn should be able to have control over their own body and their right not to have a child. Psychological games aside (a point that I think devalues the conversation)–‘the male pill’ needs to be a serious consideration for pharmaceutical companies; we can treat your balding, give you a 4 hour erection, and treat low testosterone but ‘it’s the women’s job to use contraception’ is ridiculous. http://articles.cnn.com/2010-05-07/health/future.contraceptives.male.pill_1_sperm-production-male-birth-control-pill-progestin?_s=PM:HEALTH The article above is from MSNBC and they quote the male pill as being 5-10 years away from being released. The female… Read more »
Amanda and Tom — 100% in agreement with both of you. Equality goes both ways. When I was stopped on the street by a Planned Parenthood fundraiser I took the opportunity to ask whether they were working on a male pill, whether hormonal or non-hormonal (like the RISUG shot that targets the delivery system). I was told Planned Parenthood was not. Any heterosexually active pair of humans with even half an ounce of common sense will use at least two simultaneous methods of birth control anyway. I remember what it was like learning I had impregnated my then girlfriend despite… Read more »
Fine by me. It would be a lot cheaper and less invasive than getting a vasectomy, and more reliable than condoms. Fire up the R&D engine and let’s get cranking, folks!
It would eventually cost you more over the long run to take the male pill because you’d have to pay for a set of pills every month for the rest of your life if you chose to never get a vasectomy. So it’s cheap at the moment, but not in the long run.
Not necessarily, You wouldn’t have to take it during those times when you and your S.O. are trying to have a child. Also, a man could probably stop taking it once his S.O. reached about 45 or so. The chances that a woman past 45 will get pregnant w/out medical intervention is almost nil. I think what women fear the most is a man playing the kind of “oops” games that many women do (a UK womans magazine that had a survey “would you lie about contraception to get pregnant even if your lover said he didn’t want to be… Read more »
John made the point I was going to say: its cost is as yet unknown, and it would be affected by the question of how long a man wanted to remain childless/childfree.