Male Birth Control Soon to be a Thing

Talking brass tacks, when it comes to oral medical contraceptives, the responsibility has primarily always been on the woman’s part. Guys have had limited options at their disposal; pretty much surgery in the form of a vasectomy or protection.

That’s all about to change soon, though, as men are about to have medical contraceptives available for the first time. These will be in the form of pills, gels or even injections, potentially.

While trials have been going on for a pill of this sort for quite some time, the side-effects associated with the trailed methods have always been quite severe; ranging from liver and kidney damage to excessive weight gain or mood swings. The presence of these issues makes them unlikely to ever hold water commercially. According to a new study, those issues appear to have largely been mitigated in the latest bouts of trials, though.

The participants in the latest rounds of trials were all men, between 18-50, who were given three different doses of the pill, and on all doses, testosterone dropped to castrate levels. While this does mean that birth control will be within a guy’s control and that they’ll only need to take one tablet daily, the long-term effects of chemically-suppressed testosterone levels may lead to further concerns. The pills did however show no signs of kidney or liver damage, nor did the participants seem to suffer side-effects commonly associated with testosterone deficiency.

While it’s good to have an option besides a vasectomy, which is a permanent and serious procedure, the chemical consequences of these male birth control pills will have to be observed long-term before a serious opinion can be formed. At the moment, though, it seems like they’re going to be a safe and viable option for guys to look into.