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Students: male birth control necessary, needs work
▶ HAILEY DIXON
@_hailey_dixon
Although women have been able to prevent pregnancy with various birth control methods for years, there may be a new alternative for males in the near future.
In addition to wearing condoms, withdrawing during sexual intercourse or getting a vasectomy, men may now have the opportunity to receive a birth control injection to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
crinology and Metabolism. The organization recently published data of this male birth control study.
The shot works by lowering sperm count in men, which would then reduce the chances of pregnancy in their female partners, according to the Journal of Clinical Endo-
Of the 266 males that participated in the effectiveness study, only four pregnancies occurred, according to the study.
"I was really excited at the prospect of it," she said. "It's shocking to me that we don't have [male birth control] vet."
University students, like senior Jacey Bishop from Haniston, are thrilled about the potential of having male birth control in the future.
Despite the low risk of pregnancy the shot was stopped due to the severe side effects that the men
reported, according to the study. The side effects included increased mood swings, acne and other symptoms. The mood swings, especially, were a cause of concern.
Some individuals had a negative reaction to the announcement, claiming that women face these same issues when taking traditional birth control.
Bishop said the side effects were not substantial enough to warrant the researchers stopping the study, saying men should be able to handle the side effects.
Hunter Finch, a graduate intern with the Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equity, said he thinks these statements are problematic and may discourage men from telling doctors about their health concerns.
Photo illustration by Missy Minear
"For people to say like 'Oh, you're just soft,' that's obviously not a good thing, because it's not allowing men to fully express what's going on," Finch said.
Finch said he thinks men should still have the opportunity to express their full range of emotions, so they can get the medical help needed if they underwent this type of birth control in the future.
In addition, Finch said introducing a birth control shot for men could bring many benefits to both men and women.
"I think if you give both men and women — in this
case talking about the gender binary specifically — the option and the availability of birth control, I think it's a great thing," Finch said. "Right now there's this certain burden of responsibility on women. They have to be the ones to make sure that they're careful during sex, where men are given the
green light to say, 'Oh, well she was on birth control, so I'm fine,' or something like that."
Bishop said the ideal solution would be having safe and healthy contraception for both men and women.
"We need to work on getting rid of the side effects for everyone," Bishop said.