The reason we’re asking this is because new research shows that a male contraceptive injection could be as effective at preventing pregnancies as the female pill or condoms.
It’s a monthly testosterone injection which works by temporarily blocking sperm production and could revolutionise birth control.
Experts say that in trials in China only one man in 100 fathered a child while on the injections. Family planning campaigners welcomed the news and said they hoped an injection would give couples more choice and enable men to take a greater share of the responsibility for contraception.
If you’re a man would you use this method? If you’re a woman, would you want your partner to have the injection? Women have had to be responsible for so long now with the use of the pill, isn’t it about time that men, well, grew up, and did the right thing?
This, of course, doesn’t cancel the threat of STDs, so the sexually active have to remain careful in that department. But does it mean that woman could (or should be allowed to) relax, just a bit?
Can men be trusted to have had the injection, and then speak the truth when they SAY they’ve had the injection? Are there some men out there who will never even consider this, as being right for them?
Let us know what you think.
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BBC World Have Your Say 
This won’t prevent STDs, and women can be quite irresponsible with birth control as well given all the unwanted pregnancies there are currently without this option.
so, if women trust men – they will be in trouble?
Hi,…………..I just wanted to plug in this point………..”” What about the crime angle??””……………If it falls into criminal men…………wont we see more rapes?….coz that wont leave any mark…………
Semen contains mucous which contains dead skin cells. Skin cells contain DNA. Np problem there.
If it’s shown to be safe, yeah I’d do it. But even with this there will still be some who just can’t be bothered. In many parts of Asia it’s understood that birth control is the guy’s responsibility (the opposite of the West).
Now that I think about it, men rarely have an ulterior motive to lie about contraceptive usage, especially in casual relationships, as they don’t want to have a kid, let alone pay child support, while sometimes women have an interest to be dishonest, either to get state benefits or child support, or to get married. I might be wrong, but I’ve never heard of a man doing something like that, so this option might reduce the number unwanted pregnancies, but then again, methods like this will not prevent STDs.
No offense to men, but I just wouldn’t trust some guy who said he was on this unless I personally saw him take it every month. People have been known to lie to get what they want (men and women, and I am sure there have been plenty of women who’ve lied about being on the pill just to get pregnant). I think its great for a couple who love and trust each other though. And as Steve said above, it won’t prevent STDs so condoms are always the best bet.
I’m sorry, it’s also hard to trust a woman who says the same. Yet, we don’t have a choice but to accept it until we get a court order telling us to pay child support. Maybe the issue is that we shouldn’t be trusting each other and just take care of it ourselves. You don’t want to get pregnant, use the pill. I don’t, I’ll use the shot. That way we are all safe even if our partners are liers.
I just asked my fiancee if he’d try it for us, and he said, “It’s worth a shot.” LOL!
Ah, the heat of the moment – go ahead take the risk.
Nobody can be trusted in the heat of the moment, but because women have more to loose, they tend to be more responsible with resepct to birth control.
There is no biological reason for men to be truthful about whether they have had the jab or not.
Men are like wombats – they eat, roots, shoots and leaves.
It’s just one more option, and the use will be like every other option in contraception, some people will use it conscientiously, and other people can’t be bothered. Has there been any information as to how much the shots will cost?
It would be good to have reliable nonintrusive contraception available to both the man and the woman. In a long term relationship or marriage, if one partner has trouble adjusting hormonally to the contraceptive drug, the other partner may have a better result. Or they could alternate years to share the burden of known or unknown side effects.
A question about casual relationships–if you don’t trust the other person to be truthful about contraceptive use, why would you trust him or her to be truthful about sexually transmitted diseases? Shouldn’t you be using or insisting on condoms in all sexual relationships where there is insufficient trust?
I’m old enough to remember when the burden of unintended pregnancy was borne almost entirely by the woman, whether she chose abortion, carrying the pregnancy to term and giving the baby up for adoption, or raising the child alone in a hostile society. Now to hear men talk about it they seem at least as afraid of unwanted pregnancies as women are. It will be good to offer men reliable contraception that they control–condoms are not one hundred percent effective even if the man uses them correctly every time.
I think this is great. Woman aren’t good with the pill, and they don’t want the shot because it will most likely make them fatter. Yay for science!!!
-Anthony, LA, CA
@ Steve
Thanks for the 2 “It won’t stop STD’s”, I guess the paragraph above (and common sense) didn’t explain it right, lol.
I ask how much it will cost because IUD’s cost around $600-$800. Some women can’t take the pill because it makes them sick, can’t afford IUDs, and they’re husbands are squeamish about vasectomies, so this might be a good option for those kinds of couples. As with the IUD, this is probably a better option for monogamous couples, and those who are still playing the field will still need a raincoat.
If men do not want children, then they should get a vasectomy and be done with it, a solution that should not be an option for some (ie. men who have previously fathered children and refuse to take responsibility for them). Why give pharmaceutical companies more of your money than you already do for the various remedies we all ingest from time to time? The prevention of STD’s is a separate matter, which can be solved by additional condom use or abstinence (though not the most enjoyable and frequently frustrating option).
If women don’t “trust” a man to use this shot, why are they having sex with him without a condom in the first place? Maybe he’s also being dishonest about having no STDs or wouldn’t bring it up if he knew he had one? If you’re not trusting enough to trust a guy to use this shot, but you’ll have sex with him without a condom, you are a fool.
*LOL*!! I know two women that are what we call ‘rubber scrapers’. They will drain a rubber dry when the guy isn’t looking to become pregnant. One of the women did it to her husband! The other was a ‘gold digger’ that later proved to be too stupid to get a proper payoff.
Any guy that wants to cut the odds will love it. A few women will hate it. As with anything everyone will get negligent once in a rare while. It is an excellent addition to all that is required for a healthy, controlled, sex life.
Anything that boosts the testosterone levels of this current generation of males, I’m all for. We need something to negate the current emasculation of men in the western world. Let’s put it in the freakin’ water supply.
That would be just perfect, if we can’t fully trust women we know, we can trust ourselves at least and have the medicine.
I think it’s a great idea for men to practice birth control.
As I woman, there’s no way I’ll leave it up to the man. If something goes wrong, or the man is lying, it’s the woman who literally bears the consequences.
@ Patti in Coral Gables: IUD’s might cost from $600 to $800 in the USA’s insanely inflated health system. They only cost a fraction of that here in Switzerland.
@Steve — “Men rarely have an unterior motive to lie about contraception, especially in casual relationships… I’ve never heard of a man doing something like that.”
Men don’t lie about contraception because they can’t, Steve. There’s no oral or injectable agent that they could claim to take. If there were one, then a man claiming to take it would be more llikely to succeed in having sex with a woman, especially in a casual relationship. Having sex is a famously powerful motive.
Jonathan
San Francisco
It’s a good idea but if you are injecting testosterone or any other hormone into your body you have to do clinical trials that are lengthy to ensure safety and even so there might still be side effects that take over five years to become apparent. I know pharmaceutical companies will be eager to market the product if there is a ready market but we must ignore the dollar and look at the long term impact lest we have to create a drug in the future to counteract the side effects.
Women invest more in offspring than men, so men will never (averaged out as a population of all men) be as careful with contraception as women. This should only be marketed to men in committed relationships and to be used in conjunction with contraceptives that women can verify (e.g. condom).
@ Donnamarie – I know, medical costs are insane here, even for those who have health insurance. For example, my health insurance does not cover any type of contraception. Isn’t it cheaper to cover contraception than pregnancy?!?
@ Jonathan
How many men would have the ulterior motive of wanting to lie about being on some male BC and having wanting to have a child and being subjected to paying child support? I’m sure 1 or 2 on the planet, but 99.999999999999% would not do that.
This is not the issue. Besides, I know a guy that has 9 children with four women. a ‘born again christian’ that believes in the biblical rule: ‘go forth and multiply. Plus his wives get tired of his charm soon and divorce him. To many young adults, pregnancy is nothing more than status. Never assume that anyone is guided by ‘common sense’. There is no such thing.
This issue is about both men and women taking responsibility for any and all results of the sex act. It is not now and never has been about trust.
If your partner or anyone else says “Trust me”–don’t. Madoff’s victims trusted him to invest their money safely and look what happened there.
Forget about trust, please.
The time is over for “She told me she was on the pill” and “I lost control” and “I want to get married so never mind what he/she wants or doesn’t want”.
Honesty about what you want from the relationship, be it sex, children, marriage, etc. is best. If the other does not want what you want, move on..
This is a solution in search of a problem. It’s women who must bear the consequences of contraceptive failure; why would they entrust control of it to men?
The BBC story has links to previous announcements of this “breakthrough,” in 2006 and 2003, suggesting that this project is elusive as well as useless.
Jonathan
San Francisco
Ultimately, whether you are a man or a woman – yes both have been known to be less than truthful in such matters in recorded history – YOU and YOU alone have to take responsibility for YOUR own reproductive health and all issues surrounding it. After all there are two parties involved and you simply cannot put it all on the other person for whatever reason. Regardless of what claims your partner may make the only way you can come close to being sure about contraception is to protect yourself. That way you can be sure up to a certain point.
I say why not give some of the responsibility to men? This probably isn’t the best thing for people looking for casual sex (they should always use condoms), but in a committed relationship it’s a great to have another option. The odds that a husband of 10 years is going to lie and try to get his wife pregnant is slim to none, so I see no reason why the man can’t bear an equal share of the responsibility. The testosterone shots aren’t permeate like a vasectomy so if at a later time a couple wants children, they still can. I only wonder why it took scientists this long to come up with other male contraceptives.
Claiming that contraception is too important a matter to be left to men is egregious. On the contrary I know countless men including myself who have been cheated into believing their partner was taking the pill and that partner became pregnant against their will. This new contraceptive injection may thus be a major advance in sex equality by reestablishing a level playing field on the all important question of whether and when to conceive a child. Up till now too many women have used right of birth control means to manipulate males in a shameless way.
I think whether or not this form of birth control protects from STDs is a non-issue. The only form of birth control I’m aware of that protects from STDs are condoms and the use of those are the responsibility of both parties. Whether or not men will lie about being on this contraceptive is also no different than women lying about the same thing. I think it’s about time there’s an alternative to women needing to be in charge of birth control. Also, I don’t think any form of birth control beyond condoms is worth the cost unless you’re in a relationship with someone you can trust. You can always know whether or not a condom is used, there’s not much else beyond that reassurance.
@Steve– You’re forgetting that not everyone is as responsible as you. Can you really be unaware that many men simply walk away, without assuming responsibility or paying child support or even saying howdy? Have you never heard country music lyrics? One or two men on the planet… that’s funny.
Jonathan
San Francisco
The only truly reliable male contraception is a vasectomy.
I had mine at age 23, partially in defiance of a partner who told me that, as a male, I had no say whatsoever in her reproductive choices.
If a pregnancy occurred, and I wanted the child, but she did not; she would abort and I had no say in the matter.
If I did not want the child, and she did; she would have the baby and then sue me for 18 years of child support.
The only way a man can protect his rights is to control his own fertility.
@ Rob, if women have more invested in offspring, then don’t you think they would have more reason to refuse to have sex with a guy unless contraception was being used? You know, say “no condom, no sex?”. So I don’t believe your view, because if women had so much invested in this, they would require some contraception to be used, either by him, or by her. And given the high levels of unplanned pregnancies, and given the low failure rates of contraceptives, something doesn’t add up.
Before being married, I always used a condom. Not only to prevent pregnancy, but also to reduce the possibility of HIV transmission. I was tested negative, so was really, mostly protecting myself. However, I know that men, generally are not the best at taking the initiative to wear a condom and will resist it whenever possible. For a woman to depend on a man for contraception is both unreliable and fool-hardy. Sorry ladies, but it you want to be certain, don’t rely on the man. And if you’re concerned about HIV, hand him a condom at the start and be insistent.
Women are suspicious of men? Come on, think about it, especially in the west. How many men have some paternal instinct that would cause them to be dishonest about using BC, and how many men look forward to paying child support? Do you really think there are that many men who are so desperate to have children and pay child support that they would lie?
You should always back up your back up. I use depo provera and condoms now. Why not use the testosterone injections, too? You can never be too safe.
At the end of the day, if men and women are equally responsible (In action, not results), both men and women using this means the number of unplanned children will be the square root of the number of children we have known.
It’s obvious that culturally, some cultures need to have it made clear that men are responsible for their actions, and even when done, this is an additional layer of protection to be used in conjunction with a condom and with the woman using the pill.
But even taking that into consideration, it’s not as if there is a down side to this being out there and available. Get sports stars on this, and even the most cowardly men will be using it.
Jonnan (And, since context matters here – this is a male)
If I had a daughter to discuss this with,
I would tell here about the ham and eggs breakfast.
when you have ham and eggs,
The chicken was definitely “involved.”
The pig however was committed.
As Mrs Banks from Mary Poppins would say about men…..
“We agree that as a group they’re rather stupid.”
I don’t understand why either one or the other sex should be responsible or “trusted” for birth control. Both sexes have their own incentives for being dishonest concerning birth control and both should use birth control as they see fit for their own lives. As a man, I would love a more subtle alternative to a condom to protect my own future.
Raimie Hedman
Bend, OR
Contraception is too important to be left to any individuals.
I believe that all babies should be sterilized at birth.
The procedure could be reversed upon request after
a person reaches an agreed-upon age, say 21 for
example. Our planet is in peril from over population.
There is a free birth control method Helen but no one is sure any more whether it works. But it does! Abstain during those critical periods and everything will be ok. Sex among grown ups can be played safe through understanding. Having said that, I think it is not problem of sexual act which is the problem but promiscuity. The condom has not solved this problem, neither has the pill or the vasectomy. I am not sure this one will work. I agree with you about populations. We don’t have shortage of babies. What we have is shortage of food and fuel in the world.
Worse still, if you look at this blog, the married have become dunderheads in this straightfoward issue. We seem to be rational enough to know when not to smoke in some areas; can’t we extend it to when we should have sex with who and where?. It does not matter whether one is married or not.
I think that both parties should be covered. If it were available both myself and my partner would take advantage of contraception.
P.S. After over twenty years of birth-control usage, I volunteered to get a vasectomy so that my wife could get off the pill. I recommend it for all couples with no intention of having children. Besides, it CAN be reversed.
Everyone is talking about the right to the contraception, but no one is mentioning that it does not protect against other sexually transmitted diseases. So, if you are not in a committed relationship with a partner you would trust if they said “they took the pill” why would you have unprotected sex with that person anyway?
I think it should be available, as long as understand that we’re going to have to work harder to educate men about the many physical, psychological, and social consequences of having sex other than the risk of getting a woman pregnant. I think that many men restrain themselves from having sex at certain times because of a fear of impregnating their partner – if they took the shot and this risk no longer deterred them, we might see many negative consequences such as increased spread of STD’s, and more sexual aggression and rape.
Oral contraceptives changed the world 50 years ago by giving women reliable control over their fertility. Surely that is empowerment, not a “burden!”
I think this is a great option. I’m a little disturbed that some participants in this discussion are speaking like men have no repercussions from pregnancy. There are women who are dishonest about contraception. This method can give men more control over their role in pregnancy. The question that pregnancy is too important to be left to men, is assuming that couples not do, but can only choose one method of birth control at a time.
ABOUT FREAKING TIME…
The pill makes me feel bad, so I can imagine the male injection could make some men feel bad. Yes both partners have a responsibility, but neither has a duty to make themselves unwell by using a method of contreception which isn’t right for them.
A lot of people have said you can’t trust the other partner, but having sex with anyone, even a stranger must involve some level of trust; you get in an intimate and potentially vulnerable situation.
Sharing your trust and responsibility is best, if ideal. That’s why using condoms and caps (where you both SEE the other person using contraceptive as part of foreplay) can be good, even though both have drawbacks and are not 100% effective.
But neither are the drug methods of contraception; so it’s what works for the individual.
As far as casual sex, the only protection can be provided by a condom. When it comes to good manogamous relationships I think it’s great for both partners to have options. Before this men could only use condoms (something that has to be at hand for each sexual encounter) or have vacectomies (which are in many cases irreversable). With this shot both men and women will have more options and therefore more methods of family planning.
@ Jonathan
Well, that’s certainly a possiblity, but clearly those women are making rather poor choices in men if they are having sex with a completely untrustworthy person or a complete stranger without condom usage (meaning they aren’c considering even STDs). You’re suggesting that these women cannot find these men for child support after they walk away. So you are suggesting that it makes sense for a woman to trust a guy to use male BC whom she doesn’t even know his name, given if she has his name, she can find him for child support? Is it wise to have unprotected sex with someone you don’t even know the same of?
This has tremendous possibilities for population control. A government that has problems with overpopulation could pay men to take this shot to stop or delay population growth for a number of years.
To keep track, an RFID could be injected also and monthly updated and in addition, women could buy an RFID reader to check and see if their man was telling the truth about his injections.
Delaying pregnancies would shift, hopefully, to when the people are a little bit older, wiser, and more fiscally and socially responsible.
Charley said “the only way a man can protect his rights is to control his own fertility” and I completely agree. *however* the lack of temporary options is completely unacceptable. That’s one of many reasons why this shot should be viewed as what it is: a great step towards reproductive equality.
I really enjoyed participating in the radio discussion. Some points that I didn’t get around to making:
1. Too much responsibility has already been placed on women, and I believe that with shared responsibility for contraception, more equal responsibility for child-rearing will more naturally follow.
2. when couples in relationships can discuss their reproductive options from an equal standpoint, it also contributes to equality within the relationship.
Of course there are cultural differences in how this method would be used. One thing I’m not hearing anyone say is the cases where BOTH people would prefer to be on hormonal birth control. I know plenty of people who combine the Pill with other methods – why not combine this one as well?
@ Steve
No, there are plenty of guys who try to knock up women in order to “Put them on lock” as they say. I knew this guy that got some female pregnant since she would marry him if so. I knew this other guy who did, but she ended up hating him. Saying that 99.9999999% of men would do this is a bit ignorant.
-Anthony, LA, CA
Saying “contraception is too important to be left to men” marginalizes men and make it seem as though men arent smart enough to make such serious life alterning decisions. i believe it is this view that has brought us to a point where men are allowed to take a back seat when it comes to contraceptives.
If my partner decides to participate in it then I’d welcome it as long as he lets me know. That said, I’ll still make sure I am protecting myself and making sound rational decisions.
-Maxine (Nigeria)
I hear birth control being spoken of as a “burden.” I am aware of the history of birth control and grew up in the ’60s. I feel strongly that birth control is a privilege. Power over one’s own life is a privilege and you don’t hand that over to someone else as if it were a burden. Women gained significant power over their own lives when we gained the privilege of birth control. If men want that control over their own lives, that’s fine; but it has nothing to do with me giving up my own privilege of self control.
I must be missing something…why can’t both men and women take the contraceptive together
@ Anthony
Maybe you live on a different planet than I do, but I’ve never heard of any guy doing that or wanting to do that. What do you think is more common, men doing this, or women doing this?
It is good to hear that mail contraceptive is getting available, but it is always safe for the lady to get protected with her contraceptive methods, until and unless she is sure for her partner had the injection. It is also true that females are getting a break from using pills and the side effects of it. For me, I would love to use the injection…….
Sounds wonderful for us humans, and even better for the fish. Could this put a nice slow down on the exploding aquatic population?
…and those STDs…
All this talk of, “can men and women be trusted?” is ridiculous. Take responsibility for yourself. If you can’t trust your partner, you’re a bad judge of character to begin with.
Good news for all the children from un-married relationships, no child support, go any time with women and worries about them get pregnant.
I love this Idea.
Although humans evolved to be able to get pregnant right after puberty, society wants them to wait until they are older and wiser to even have sex because having a child is a big grownup adult responsibility. This could help protect teens from having babies when they aren’t yet responsible enough to be parents.
A good idea!
Many of these posts make incorrect assumptions about gender. It is not always the man who pays child support if the couple don’t stay together; if the woman makes more income, she may pay the child support.
These ridiculous stereotypes about gender, sex, and having babies also make the U. S. legal system discriminate against fathers in court when it comes to custody. Look up the Father’s Rights movement.
Male contraceptive injections would be a good step in helping all genders better understand each other and play equal roles in sex and reproduction.
(by the way, this is a woman posting…)
We also have to consider that men are having major problems with the sperm productiom decreasing during last decade. There is high percentage of woman hormons already in the drinking water. Water cleaning station are not able to clean it that affect the reproduction. There should be no more hormonal polution.It looks that condom is the best protection, especially for acidental sex. Me and my girlfriend we dont use any anticonception, but we might want to have a child soon.
Unfortunately, in relationships outside of marriage, I believe it will always be the woman’s responsibility for birth control. Women will always be left with difficult choices of what to do with a pregnancy.
Men have the ability to walk away. Even with legal proceedings it is extremely difficult to establish paternity, actually collect child support from a man and ensure some sort of participation from a man in a child’s life.
Men will go to great lengths to get what they want – look at the case of the man who faked HIV test results in order to get his girlfriend to sleep with him without a condom.
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2008/12/hiv_man_faked_h.php
This kind of stuff happens every day – many cultures believe it is all the womans responsibility – thats crazy!
“Shared responsibility” is a transparent fiction. The outcome of a pregnancy is exclusively the woman’s choice, by biology, by custom, and by law. She may elect to have the baby, or she may elect to terminate the pregnancy. Her male partner has no say in the matter.
Real “shared responsibility” would give men a vote on the outcome of pregnancy. Still want to “share,” ladies?
Jonathan
San Francisco
It is an option. Options are good. Is there anything more to say?
A woman has to look after their own body ,their own health and their own sexual health they should t receive advice from elder female family members,friends and medical practioners.
why should women be dependent on men?
They should not wait for someone else to decide their fate
There is a difference between birth control and safe sex practices. If there are any issues of trust between two sexual partners, it is important to use a barrier method, such a s a condom to prevent STI’s along with unwanted pregnancy. Male birth control is a method that should be used only within the context of a trusting relationship, and in that case, men should be trusted to be responsible partners.
Given that EVERY method of contraception (other than abstinence) has a projected level of failure associated with it, it would seem that this injection should only be used as an extra layer of insurance in combination with another method and never as the sole means of contraception.
Both men and women have equal responsibilities.
To Steve –
I agree. I am a woman, and I have never met a man who wants to trick a woman into getting pregnant. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, but I definitely HAVE met WOMEN who do this to men. If a man can take the birth control himself, there is no worry, and the same goes for women. Take control over your own child-bearing life, take birth control!
I think this should not be a question at all. I think both men and women should take responsibility because intercourse and results of it are a shared responsibility. I think that if men are responsible for contraception they will become as aware as women are of the resposibilities of sex.
I would pay my teenage sons to use this if I had them.
If we’re going on the getting to know someone and trust, I challenge you to see if the people who meet at a club this weekend follow that advice…. There’s LOTS of casual sex out there.
If I had teenage daughters I would pay their boyfriends to use this, in order to protect both, just as a backup.
Sure, I’d ask them to wait to have sex, but I would also acknowledge the power of hormones and the human sex drive when teens are still learning how to be adults in this world.
I think we are missing a huge piece of the puzzle when we discuss contraception in Africa (especially Southern Africa) without talking about condoms as the #1 most important method. With HIV/AIDS rates over 50% of the population in many countries it seems dangerous to me to have a conversation about contraception in terms of only preventing pregnancy. The number one goal of any form of contraception in Africa should be to protect against HIV/AIDS (thus condoms should be heavily promoted and education on condom use should be the main public health effort). Then, and only then, we can talk about men and women using back up methods to prevent pregnancy (such as men using the injection or women using the Oral contraceptive pill, IUD, etc).
@Steve– No, I didn’t say it’s admirable for men to abandon the women they impregnate, or that it’s prudent for women to trust that they won’t., and I didn’t applaud anonymous sex. I said that men often abandon the women they impregnate. To acknowledge a fact is not to endorse it.
@Jane in Winston-Salem~~ Well said! It’s amazing, puzzling, and sad that a miraculous achievement that women had wanted for millennia is now considered a “burden.”
I have never known a man to lie about contraception in order to get a woman pregnant, although I’m sure it happens. I have known women who lie in order to get pregnant. I have know men to lie about being monogamous and not having any STDs in order to avoid having to use a condom to have sex. I guess all around, some people just lie, so protect yourself, man or woman.
I can agree with you Patti. This dude culture is going to cost us a lot. We will perenially be guinea pigs for the pharmaceutical companies who continue to prosper while we end up hating ourselves over what we do.
People (men and women) should know the right time and the wrong time for sex, the right place and the wrong place to have sex.
It is good to have this device available as a choice but it would be good to let it remain on the shelves. It is not hard for a man to listen and to care about the plight of a woman. If more and of all the poeple in the world took this route of responsibility and not the status quo the world can be much safer.
This talk about men and women is getting us nowhere because we have become escapists. The same can be said about those who present a stereotype called the African Man or women anywhere as your caller suggests. We are increasingly becoming irresponsible. There is nothing racial about it; it’s just complacensy that we suffer from. What we could be seeing here too, is actually the failure of the mordern education in developing rational beings among other things. While it is okay to continue coming up with these devices, I think teaching the citizens of tomnmorrow good values can go a long way instead of saying we are helpless. Sex can be played safe without victimizing men or women. We clearly know that venerial diseases can be avoided and they have always been and so can many other associative factors.
My view is that the woman does not require those pills and the man does not require these new devises.
Both men and women can enjoy sex by becoming reponsible by revoking the moral law which clearly has collapsed here.
If i care very very much about my partner, and i strongly believe that she does about me, i can go for the contraceptive.. but it is based on trust. Akintunde From Nigeria
The injection has an impact on the spread of AIDS. Many boys and young men in Africa use condoms because the want the girls they sleep with to avoid pregnancies and remain in school. They escape AIDS as well. There is a risk of reducing this benefit when this injectionis used. Andrew KAKOOZA in KAMPALA
I wish they would develop immunizations for STDs, now that would be some breakthrough!
I think it might hamper maleness of a man. As testosterone is the key hormone for maleness, eg. agressiveness, egoism, bulkiness, rigidity, and other physical and mental characteristics. I have reservations with the introduction of this male hormonal contraceptive containing testosterone in the sense that it may have permanent adverse effects on libido of a male.
Nicole, there is the patch, the nuvoring and the diaphram.
This is another choice, but if people are not already being physically, socially and responsible, this won’t change anything.
The only thing I worry about with male contraception is that men will become even more resistant to wearing condoms. I am in favor of BOTH male and female partner using contraception at all times…but I think that one of those birth control methods should also protect against STDs….we all know that female condoms are a joke.
I love it! Women nowadays take the pill for years on end, and plenty of them (including me) are really getting tired and/or worried. Not worried because they might inadvertently skip a day -but because they start wondering how it is affecting their body and its inner workings.
It would be so nice to share this burden! I still have to talk it through with my boyfriend, but I’m pretty sure he’ll agree.
Andrew in Australia – I totally agree. It’s up to each and every one of us to take full responsibility for our actions and reproductive choices. Which is why I got myself sterilised after 2 kids – didn’t ask my husband to do it. I’m the one walking around feeling like a beached whale for many months and then seeing my career prospects go down the tubes while I care for the offspring!
Unbelievable though it seems in the 21st century, some guys really do regard getting a woman pregnant as a sign of their ‘manliness’. It’s this whole ‘baby daddy’ culture.
I’m also bemused by all this talk of trust. Again – if you don’t trust the man/woman, why on earth are you having sex without a condom? Sounds totally nuts to me for either sex. But the male injection would work well in a monogamous relationship.
it’ll be perfect for the developing world if it could help reduce the fertility rates. i’m thinking of africa and how difficult to get women on contraceptive pills. on the thecnical side this solution would be much easier to implement but would the men go for it?
Yes it is. Men for the most part have no antipathy towards womens concerns.
This is a great idea. Provided there are no negative side effects or they are minimal, I would absolutely use it.
In my country – the US – the word “contraception” seems too important to utter. You will rarely hear any mention of contraception or family planning by the media and they will NEVER acknowledge the existence of the term, “population control,” much less discuss the topic. It is one of the many examples of self-censorship by the media.
Boulder, Colorado
Hmmm, maybe my post was too long so I will try again! đŸ™‚
Re: If you’re a man would you use this method? If you’re a woman, would you want your partner to have the injection? Women have had to be responsible for so long now with the use of the pill, isn’t it about time that men, well, grew up, and did the right thing?
No, I would not want my partner to have this injection. I don’t think I’d want to relax when I’d be the one facing the most consequences if something was not done correctly or someone was being dishonest…….relax, no way!
Ron and Mary are both right.
Well if all men will be true to themselves and themselves alone then i guess we will making a head way , but other than that then i guess the whole thing will go down the drain but it worth trying if u ask me and i know its just gonna help .
Why shouldn’t men have to be responsible for their own contraception? There are too many men having unprotected sex (because THEY don’t like the way a condom feels) and impregnanting women. These men then “don’t want to be/are not ready to be fathers”, yet they are more than ready to have a lot of sex. There men typically do not help take care of the child(ren) they have created and create a burden on the community and on the welfare system.
Men have been whining because they don’t have a choice like women have a choice. They have two choices already……1) DO NOT have sex and 2) have protected sex. Maybe this contraception option will help men take a more responsible role in their (and womens) sexual health and well-being.
Hello,
as a man, I would not mind to use it as long as I can told the pros and cons of the method as well as what if I miss or take sooner the injection. If a woman stops the pill, it can take up to two years to recover fertility to have a child. How would that work for man, what are the delays if any. With answers to all those questions that, today, women only bear, I am in principle in favour.
However, there are three other issues:
– as it is the woman who carries the burden of giving birth and the consequences (most of the time) when the relationship breaks down, I will understand and probably recommend that women continue to take the pill; but if the woman has trouble with the contraceptive tools, then it is the responsibility of the man to ensure avoiding having conception;
– at this stage, I made the assumption of a regular couple; for the butterfly behaviour, the condom is the only secured contraception with the possibility of this as secondary method because the issue is first avoiding transmissible diseases;
– in case of one being already HIV positive or other STD (temporary or permanent), condom remains the only effective protection and must not be forgotten.
That being said, I assume that the person is not overwhelmed by religious/sectarian beliefs. If you think strongly enough that sex means procreation and definitely not pleasure, then the subject is not for you, and it will be my turn to believe that contraception is not of your business.
Enjoy your day/night.
Without honor, nothing works. On both sides.
Share, care and be aware.
On air: Is contraception too important to be left to men?
Yes….it is way too important to leave it in the “arms” of the men gender….
~Dennis Junior~
Contraceptives for men are long overdue. No longer only the woman has control over whether a child should be put to the world or not. Having a baby is a big, life-changing decision and men should have as much of a say in the matter as women.
And if it can bring down the world birth rate a little, so much the better for future generations!
I was having a hard time getting past the title of the program. I wonder how the show would have been recieved if it was “Is Contraception too important to be left up to women?” I know that it is very politically correct to be blind to anti-male comments but wow….. Off the subject…….
I think any adult person needs to be responsable for there own reproduction. For every man that is going to forget or lie about it, we can find a woman who is going to try to entrap a man. Personal responsablity. It is too important to make it anothers responsability.
Seems there are those who insist on playing the blame game instead of actually seeing this as an advancement towards male contraception choices. Perhaps it’s time to allow more women and men to have the relevent sterilization practices,instead of hindering this option. It’s also time for men to quit being so squeamish about vasectomies, it will not make you impotent (only in your mind)
The reason for all the unwanted pregnancies is due to this sexualy orientated society that has been pushed onto us by various entities…movies;television;tabloids;music industry;advertisements;models All of these entities make their fortunes on crass over-exploitation of sex.
According to a new survey by global research specialists Hall & Partners, 64% of men would be more likely to have sex without a condom if they had taken the new male contraceptive injection
Finally, an option for men besides condoms and vasectomies!!! This is a major step in helping to create relatonships that are truly equal.
Finally its not only women that are made responcible for long term contraception. So many women have been taking some kind of hormone, forced to choose between moodswings, cramps, breakouts and other hormone related side effects in order not to get pregnant. Now men finally can lift their equal share of that resoncibility.
In addition, i see it as an oportunity for men as well who now can independently secure contraception if they want to as well.
That would indeed very good, especially if introduced to third world countries, India and China. It may be a good idea for it to be compulsory in these regions.