As of: February 7, 2024, 5:55 a.m
By: Felicitas Breschendorf
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According to a survey, almost one in five men would use a pill for contraception.
One researcher considers this to be “not very meaningful”.
Depending on the preparation, the results could look different.
Contraception with a “male pill” would receive broad support in Germany.
70 percent would “definitely” or “somewhat” support it if men could also help avoid pregnancy with a pill.
This was the result of a population-representative online survey by Yougov among 2,032 people.
However, the approval is not as clear as the result initially seems - especially when you look at it from a gender perspective.
One in five men would not use a possible “male pill”.
Among women, around three quarters (76 percent) were in favor of a “male pill”, while among men it was almost two thirds (63 percent).
The number of men who can basically imagine taking it is significantly lower.
37 percent answered “yes” and 27 percent answered “maybe”.
A good one in five (21 percent) do not want to use a possible “male pill”.
59 percent of women would “definitely” or “somewhat” support their partner taking such a medication.
Only 16 percent would “probably not” or “definitely not” approve of it.
However, a quarter did not provide any information on this.
“Men’s pill” is not the same as “man’s pill”
The biochemist Clemens Steegborn, who researches male contraception, considers the numbers to be “not very meaningful”.
The participants were asked in general about a “male pill”.
However, there are different preparations that are referred to as “male pills”.
For example, it could be a pill that works through hormones and that men have to take every day.
The term could also refer to an acute-acting non-hormonal product.
For example, a Phase I clinical trial for a “male pill” is currently underway in the USA.
The drug, known as “YCT-529,” is a hormone-free retinoic acid receptor alpha (RAR-alpha) inhibitor that blocks a specific receptor for vitamin A in the testicles, preventing sperm production.
According to the scientists, the contraceptive showed 99 percent effectiveness in tests on male mice as part of preclinical studies.
There were no side effects and the mice were able to reproduce again four to six weeks after stopping the pill.
When asked about a non-hormonal pill, men may be more likely to agree
Depending on which “male pill” the study participants are asked about, the results could be different, according to Steegborn.
Franka Frei explains to BuzzFeed News Germany,
a portal from
Ippen.Media
, to what extent her opinion actually depends on the respective preparation
.
She is the author of the book “Overdue: Why contraception is also a man’s issue” and has researched acceptance of contraception for men in Germany at the Humboldt University in Berlin.
She found that “although the majority of men would be willing to take on more responsibility when it comes to contraception, the willingness to use hormonal contraception and thereby possibly suffer similar side effects as their partner is significantly lower than those who do not -hormonal agents.”
A “male pill” would also have side effects like the female pill.
(Symbolic image) © IMAGO / Pond5 Images
“Men are afraid that they will suffer similar suffering”
Steegborn is critical of the survey.
"Since no figures are given as to how many women are willing to take an equivalent pill themselves, the numbers can be interpreted completely arbitrarily," he tells
BuzzFeed News Germany
.
For comparison, women would also have to be asked whether they would take an equivalent pill.
As is well known, hormonal pills are becoming increasingly unpopular among women.
A study by the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) shows that the condom has replaced the pill as the number 1 contraceptive in Germany.
The increasingly negative image of the birth control pill is being transferred to men.
“Men notice that their partner is stopping the pill because of its side effects and are afraid that they will suffer similar suffering,” says Frei.
In addition to the pill, scientists are researching alternative contraceptive methods for men, such as gels.
“Personally, I have the greatest hope in reversible vasectomies/sperm duct closure approaches and warming methods,” adds Frei.
However, they played no role in the survey.
Steegborn thinks that the results can only be seen as a “description of the mood” for the “male pill”.
“There are market studies on the subject that show broad acceptance of such products.”
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Few men believe that contraception is unequally distributed
In the survey, participants had to indicate who they believed was responsible for contraception.
Almost half (48 percent) of men believed that responsibility was evenly divided.
However, only a quarter of women see it that way.
52 percent of women think that the responsibility lies too much with them - only one in five men agrees with this attitude.
Frei calls on men to rethink: “Fundamentally, we must not forget that every form of contraception causes inconvenience, regardless of who it is for.
And if men no longer recognize their responsibility in this regard, the majority of the contraceptive burden will continue to fall on their partners.”
A discussion that often comes up about the pill for women: In Germany the pill is not yet available without a prescription.
(
With material from dpa
)