I have always found it rather interesting that when the topic of abortion is brought up, there is always an army of people (mostly men) saying, “Don’t you think the man should have a say in what happens?”
But when the conversation addresses contraceptives or preventative measures, there is always radio silence from the shared responsibility crowd. That isn’t accidental. It’s actually completely by design.
In society, there is an always-present inequality between men and women. The responsibility of birth control is no exception. Young girls and women are given the illusion of personal choice.
They are told, typically starting around the age of 16, that there are options.
“Choices include the pill, an injection, an implant, an IUD, and many, many more! All you have to risk is your overall health, mental well-being and your literal body.
“Sure there are debilitating side effects. You may try one method and then realize you gained 20 pounds and can’t make eye contact with yourself in the mirror without getting crippling suicidal ideation, but hey, that is just apart of the process! We will find the one that works for you. You just have to give it time.”
That all sounds like lines from a play about a young girl who goes to a satirical game show where the doctor is the host, helping her select her choice of birth control, but unfortunately it is the reality for around 874 million women in the world.
And while having choices with something like this is extremely important, it seems like it’s entirely focused on ensuring that women bear the weight when addressing pregnancy prevention.
Currently there are only two certified pregnancy prevention methods for men: condoms and vasectomies.
Why is it that in the two-party system it takes to make another human life, the woman’s list of preventative options is incredibly lengthy and is accompanied by an even longer list of side effects and hormonal changes likely to occur while the man’s is… two?
In addition to that, neither of these options affect male hormones or truly take time to adjust to. A vasectomy is a simple 15-30 minute procedure that can leave a man in discomfort for about a week. After the recovery time, he is able to return to work, exercise, sex, etc.
There are some additional male birth control options that are being tested. These include a nonhormonal pill YCT-529, and a daily gel, NES/T. YCT-529 has successfully completed testing Phase 1a and is in Phase 1b/2a. NES/T is currently undergoing Phase 3 planning, hopefully resulting in a clinical trial sometime this year.
Women’s birth control directly affects their hormones, which can result in detrimental physical and mental results while men are getting more hormone-free options.
It is admirable that this movement of scientific investment in male birth control is due to men voicing the want to be involved in preventative pregnancy measures. There has been an increase in overall male investment in the responsibility that is the process of creating life.
However, it is important to strive to protect women’s bodies as a whole, not just prevent pregnancy. Just because women have options does not mean that the options are fair or equal in safety.
In 2016, a male birth control shot was developed and had a 96% effective rate. However, the study was killed after some participants began reporting side effects. Acne was primarily reported, but mood swings resulting in depression and suicidal ideation did occur.
That was enough to completely shut the study down, despite men who participated saying they would still use it knowing the side effects. That was 10 years ago.
Since then, there have not been any other male birth control innovations. The same cannot be said about women. Innovations for women include a one-year vaginal ring, new progestin-only pills and longer-lasting hormonal IUDs, all of which have their own side effects.
Male birth control studies have been completely shut down due to side effects that can be found in several informative packets or brochures about women’s birth control options.
It’s important that we recognize what that communicates to women. Your comfortability, your self-esteem, your mental health and overall well-being are not enough reasons to provide you with options that improve your quality of life.
It is imperative that there is an increase in funding to research and create more male birth control methods. Pregnancy prevention has been a woman’s responsibility and a burden on solely her body and brain for far too long.
This can no longer continue. This isn’t about taking power away from women. Providing men with more options and women with safer options is about making it what it always should have been: an equally shared responsibility.
