Scientists are Close to Creating a Male Birth Control Pill. Will Men Embrace it?
Researchers in the United Kingdom are currently testing the first male contraceptive pill. This raises the question of whether men are willing to actively participate or if they prefer women to continue shouldering the entire burden of deciding when and whether to reproduce.
Historically, women have borne the predominant burden of preventing pregnancy, often resorting to extensive measures to avoid unwanted pregnancies and terminate those they couldn’t avert. However, societal shifts propelled by generations of women exercising newfound freedoms and employing highly effective contraception, coupled with evolving gender expectations in men who have become more engaged partners and fathers, have contributed to a substantial move toward greater equality between women and men.
The Impact of the Birth Control Pill
The advent of the birth control pill has improved the well-being of offspring compared to any other historical period. These children exhibit prolonged life expectancy, improved health, a heightened likelihood of educational participation, and a decreased susceptibility to various adversities. Moreover, men have reaped substantial advantages from the contraception revolution, extending beyond the facilitation of casual and pleasurable sexual experiences.
When it comes to reproduction—whether doing it or preventing it—we have required almost nothing of men. For the past 75 years, women’s bodies have carried the burden of avoiding pregnancy. It’s women who have established alarms for taking pills, gritted their teeth through the often-brutal and not medicated pain of IUD insertion, and sometimes battled with the adverse effects of contraceptive hormones: erratic emotions, weight gain, bleeding, migraines, nausea, and more.
Researchers are currently testing the male pill, and it is not the first attempt to create a male contraceptive. It is, however, the first one that promises to be free of severe adverse effects. As it turns out, many of the problems that women accept to avoid pregnancy—mood swings and weight gain—are intolerable for the less-favored sex.
It’s a good thing most males can’t become pregnant since it doesn’t sound like they’d be able to handle it. If authorities allow this pill, they will be able to be more equal participants in their sexual and romantic relationships, as well as have more say over their own reproductive prospects. That is something that women have fought for for years.
Read the original article on The Guardian
Related article: Men Should Avoid Alcohol Three Months Before Starting a Family
