Why don't men bear the side effects of a birth control pill?

In the middle of 2022 there are multiple contraceptive methods for women (implants, patches, injections, pills, vaginal rings, intrauterine devices, spermicidal sponges, tubal ligation, the morning after pill...) and only two for men: condoms and vasectomy.

Of all current contraceptive methods, condoms are the only fair one, which does not involve added discomfort or side effects for either men or women.

But often pleasure is prioritized over safety and other alternatives to prophylactics are used (or sometimes no method of protection at all).

Elaine Lissner, director of the Parsemus foundation on revolutionary contraceptives, already claimed in 2014 that "men have the right to control birth."

Lissner gave the example of a man not using a condom because the woman she had just met was supposed to be taking birth control pills.

But what if she forgot to take them?

"At least in the US, the idea that men don't want to take responsibility for birth control is outdated."

But the truth is that advances to develop male contraceptive methods have been developed at a very slow pace because there is no sense of urgency and they focus on a treatment without adverse effects for men.

In 1990, research led by the WHO found that large doses of testosterone could be effective in reducing semen production, but it would have side effects, so it was discarded.

The interesting thing is that the side effects that were identified (mood swings, weight gain, acne, depression) are those of female contraceptive pills, which involve major hormonal changes for women and, however, have been in force since 1960 "It is clear that there is a double standard," says Dr Bobby Najari,

Director of the Male Infertility Program at NYU Langone Hospital.

In fact, another investigation was also stopped in 2016, which had shown that injections of progesterone and testosterone are effective as male contraceptives.

The reason?

Participants in clinical trials were reluctant to experience side effects, which were mainly manifested in mood swings.

“Men's continued disregard and lack of involvement in birth control is not only unfair.

It is morally unacceptable.

It's about time men stepped up and got involved in pregnancy prevention too," journalist Moira Donegan wrote in

.

“When women use a contraceptive they are weighing the risks of the drug against the risks of getting pregnant.

And pregnancy itself carries risks.

But men who try the contraceptive are not at risk if they get someone else pregnant, ”explains Rob Stein, in charge of the Science section of US Public Radio.

At the end of March this year, a group of researchers from the University of Minnesota announced the results of an investigation into a non-hormonal male contraceptive pill: YCT529.

When experimenting with mice, it showed 99% reliability and between 4-6 weeks after stopping the treatment, the rodents became fertile again.

Human trials are expected to begin soon, but even if successful, commercial development could take ten years.

Why isn't it still urgent to share the responsibility of birth control between men and women?

Why have women had to tolerate side effects for 60 years while men refuse to suffer them?

Several academic studies have pointed to gender bias within the scientific community itself.

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