Female birth control contraceptives became available in the U.S. in the 1960's. Since then, 45 different types of the pill have been created and made accessible. Not only do women in the U.S. have several options of which pill to take, there are a variety of other contraceptives that they can utilize.
Some of these options include hormonal patches, vaginal rings, hormonal shots and implants, IUD's which are placed in a woman's uterus, diaphragms or cervical caps, tubal ligations, (more commonly known as getting your tubes tied) and more.
The advancement of medical technology and social progression has made female birth control in the U.S. easy to access, fairly inexpensive, and wide ranged. An estimated 18 million women in the U.S. are on birth control. All of these facts leave me with one giant question mark in mind: where are all of the birth control options for men?
Let's see, there are condoms, vasectomies, withdrawal and that's about it. Condoms are inexpensive, 98% effective in preventing pregnancy when used correctly, and effective in preventing the transmission of STD's and HIV.
Vasectomies are more expensive and involve a reversible surgery but are 99.9% effective in preventing pregnancy. Withdrawal, or more commonly known as "pulling out," is not an effective method for preventing pregnancy and has no protection against STD's or HIV.
The lack of birth control options for men leaves the burden of birth control on women's shoulders and in turn creates the patriarchal society in which we live into an irresponsible one.
Luckily for all of us, a new birth control method for men might be rearing its head. The Population Center for Research in Reproduction at the University of Washington has been testing several different types of reversible hormonal male contraceptives and is expecting them to be commercially available in the near future.
Some of the methods available for men would be a daily pill taken orally, a patch or gel that can be applied to the skin, injections every three months, or an implant placed under the skin once a year. The way these methods work are very similar to the way female contraceptives work, using hormones such as testosterone and progestin, are used to shut down sperm production in males. What I don't understand is why it has taken 45 years for hormonal male contraceptives to start making their way out on the market. Male hormonal contraceptives have actually been tested since the 1990's, possibly earlier, but due to lack of funding and overall enthusiasm of males putting, god forbid, higher levels of hormones in their bodies, nothing has come of it until now.
In an article on MSNBC.com, Scott Hardin, a 40-year-old college administrator, pointed out the negative side of the new option.
"I would rather rely on a solution that doesn't involve medicating myself," Hardin said. "The problems women have had with hormone therapy doesn't make me anxious to want to sign on to taking a hormone-type therapy." Well great. I'm so glad that this man doesn't feel the need to take on personal responsibility for his half of procreating. Why don't the women in this country continue to take on full responsibility for a two person job? Oh wait, because that's not working so well.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 4 million women in the U.S. give birth each year. Out of that number, about 425,000 of those births are given by women between the ages of 15 and 19, and more than 100,000 are given by women over the age of 40. I'm going to assume that the majority of those births are accidental due to the age groups of the women and the average age of childbearing in the U.S. being 25 years old.
A male hormonal contraceptive will be a definite advantage for everyone. Men will have more control of their reproduction. With more effective methods, the scales of responsibility for birth control will be balanced. It's a little far fetched, but male birth control could possibly lead to a more egalitarian society.
Reach the reporter at: adprice4@asu.edu.
