Will KanYe West Sing about Shooting Blanks? Men on the BCP?
Up until now, the only birth control options for men were condoms, a vasectomy and - as any KanYe West lyric will tell you - the threat of 18 years of child support payments.
Good news! The era of the fantasy “gold digger” is almost over. The male birth control pill is in the final stages of clinical trials, says a report on Unison.ie released yesterday.
The male pill, which like female contraceptives, will also have forms of delivery other than tablets, will temporarily stop sperm production.
That doesn’t mean this new addition to the birth control arseal is without problems.
Traditionally, men have been considered less organised and less likely to take medication when they aren’t sick. There is also the fact that, like the female pill, it doesn’t protect against sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS. That said, new mothers who have enough to worry about, should be able to pass one responsibility onto their partners. Birth control should be one of those things.
Even though about 50% of pregnancies are unplanned, there is a difference between unplanned and unwanted. Children should have the right to be wanted by both of their parents.
Obviously, everyone needs to start making plans for an education campaign. Can the pill fail if the man takes antibiotics like the female contraceptive does? Does he need to take the pill at the same time each day? And what about bringing down the stereotypical posturing around male virility?
Who will release a hit single on the joys of shooting blanks?
Kanye? If you need any song-writing help on that one, I’m your girl.
P.S. Don’t forget you’re reading this blog for charity!
Tags: birth-control-for-menRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Mental Health
6 opinions for Will KanYe West Sing about Shooting Blanks? Men on the BCP?
Karen
Dec 18, 2006 at 7:19 am
It would be nice if men could take more responsibility with protection. I’m not sure I would trust them with it though. There are men out there that would lie about being on the pill just so that they could “get some”. I know of people that have children because they were naive enough to believe a man when he said he couldn’t have children. This type of birth control would be good for my family though. I would feel better knowing there’s something extra being used.
kbaggott
Dec 18, 2006 at 8:09 am
Karen- I hear you on the trust issue. I don’t think single women should go off the pill or stop insisting condoms are used.
I do think that men should take the pill to take responsibility for themselves and their children. An extra layer of protection is always a good thing.
Scott
Dec 19, 2006 at 9:25 am
From a Man’s perspective this is great for many of us. Although I do not advocate woman stop using the “pill”… for men to also have some control is a good shift to the shared responsiblity of the possibility of parenthood. Men in general need to be more responsible and this may help to evolve that.
Scott
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Maria
Apr 13, 2007 at 10:46 pm
I would love for my husband to be taking control in this realm. Our baby is almost four months old, and the last thing I want is another, but with breastfeeding our options are rather limited when it comes to birth control.
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Jul 2, 2007 at 11:48 am
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