NOTICE
Balancing the burden of birth control
A new contraceptive pill could soon give men the opportunity to take greater responsibility
By Matt Bechtold
mbechtold@kansan.com
Right here at the University of Kansas, researchers are working to provide another option when it comes to contraceptives. Listen up, fellas. This one's for you.
In the 1960s, a revolutionary new pill came onto the market and changed the way the world—and especially women—thought about sex. It has liberated millions of women over the years, putting the power to decide when, or if, they would have children squarely in their hands. The same option could soon be a possibility for men.
Conception control
Joseph Tash, Gustavo Blanco, William H. Kinsey and Leslie Heckert make up the core unit currently working on this project at KU Medical Center. The project's original leader
at the University of Kansas, Gunda Georg, has since become head of the department of medicinal chemistry at the University of Minnesota, where her new position has brought extensive new resources to the project.
Tash is quick to point out that this is not a typical
birth control pill. Unlike chemical birth control options for women that use hormones to trick the body into ceasing ovulation or make it more difficult for sperm to reach the egg, the male pill takes a completely different approach.
This chemical compound directly targets the creation of sperm cells, and this targeted approach greatly reduces the chance of side effects.
Tash also says there was also no discernible change in the sex drive of the test animals.
The latest, most-effective version of this compound is called H2-gamendazole.
By effectively reducing the sperm count to zero, the drug reduces the chance of conception to zero. Rather than making it difficult for sperm to reach the egg, it simply takes sperm out of the equation.
Everything else functions normally, Tash says. Semen is still produced, but without the sperm cells necessary to fertilize an egg.
Nearly $20 million in grant money from the National Institute of Health has helped fund the monumental task of taking a new drug from concept to the medicine cabinet.
If this drug continues to proceed through tests without showing side effects or failures, it could be available for purchase in five to seven years. Tash warns, however, that the timeline for any drug's development is very unpredictable.
"For the average woman meeting a man, do you really want to hear,'Don't worry, I'm on the pill'?"
Are we ready?
—Shirley Hill,
sociology professor
Apart from abstinence, condoms and surgical sterilization are the only two ways a man can prevent pregnancy on his own.
A male contraceptive pill would be welcomed by many men who find condoms an
Although a male contraceptive pill allows men to take a more active role in birth control, couples will still need to have strong trust and communication in order to prevent an unwanted pregnancy.
uncomfortable,inconvenient or even a risky solution. They're still essential in preventing sexually transmitted diseases, but using condoms can get old pretty quickly in a monogamous, committed relationship known to be free of sexually transmitted infections.
Photo illustration by Jessica Sain-Baird
And because this pill would allow fertility to return in a
"I think there will certainly be men who have a vested interest in not having children and would like to control that more than
short amount of time by simply ceasing to take it, it's a great alternative to vasectomies—something most men don't like to think about, and very few men seriously consider until after they've fathered all the children they want.
With a male contraceptive pill possibly becoming available in as few as five years, the question of whether men, women and society as a whole will be ready to embrace it is coming to the forefront.
Shirley Hill, professor of sociology, says she thinks most men won't be ready to use something like this within the next five to seven years.
they're able to today, so I think for some segment of the male population, it might be a very appealing thing." Hill says. "But I think that a lot of other issues that surround the whole area of sexuality will make it more difficult for men to get on the bandwagon."
Hill says because females would still carry the bulk of the responsibility of pregnancy, childbirth and raising children, a
women would need to be in a relationship in which she could trust that her partner was responsible enough to remember to take the pill.
Another question remaining is how women will view this new chapter in the sexual revolution. Will they want to share this responsibility, or will they even accept it as something men should consider?
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September 25, 2008