The future of male birth control

Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. Girl goes on birth control.

Though contraceptive myths and options have been around for centuries, the majority of birth control and prevention methods are only readily available for women. There are currently more than a dozen choices of contraception for females, versus two for men - condoms and vasectomies - which has left family planning a little one-sided, according to "Male contraceptives on the horizon," a 2006 article by Bridget Kuehn.

"We can only wish there will be more options for men," said Karrie Galloway, CEO of Planned Parenthood. "I would certainly put in a vote. Many men do want to share the responsibility. But most research has shown that male birth control effects men hormonally like it does women and they are less likely to tolerate it."

However, good news is on the way. Kuehn's article, which printed in the Journal of the American Medical Association, states that scientists' results show that within the next five to 10 years, there may be several hormonal methods of contraception available for men. Eventually men may be able to get shots of testosterone to trick the brain and reduce sperm counts, or they may have a pill of their own. However, the idea of more options of male birth control gets mixed opinions.

Kuehn's article states that according to a 2002 survey of more than 9,000 men in nine countries, more than 55 percent of the men said they were willing to use a hormonal male contraceptive, although rates of acceptance varied by country from nearly 29 percent to about 71 percent. Between 50 and 83 percent of men said they already used contraceptives, and 55 to 82 percent said the both partners were involved when selecting the method of birth control.

Brandon Forster, senior in Spanish education, said he's not sure if he would want to take a pill or get hormonal injections.

"Everything inside me says no, but we'd have to look into it," said Forster, who got married in June. Since then, his wife has been on the pill. "I'm not going to say it's the woman's place, but I don't think men would be as good at remembering to take it."

Jeremy Hubbard, junior in electrical engineering, agrees. He said if hormonal shots were available for men, he would definitely not want to get them. As far as men in general taking a birth control pill, he said it would depend on the guy and if he could remember and not be bothered by taking the pill.

Since Jeremy got married two years ago, his wife, Janalee Hubbard, has been using the ring to prevent her from getting pregnant. The ring, which is 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy, is inserted into the vagina once a month. Muscles in the vaginal wall keep the ring in place for three weeks. During that time, it slowly releases hormones needed to prevent pregnancy. Janalee said she chose the ring over the pill because she would forget to take the pill every day.

How the birth control trend began

The Planned Parenthood Web site states that according to an ancient Greek myth, Persephone, the Goddess of spring, ate pomegranate seeds to keep her from having children. The method of taking birth control by mouth is still popular among women today, since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first hormonal pill for women to use as contraception in 1960.

According to Kuehn, there are now more than a dozen choices of birth control for women including the ring, patch and hysterectomy. Methods range from intrauterine (inside the uterus) devices, barrier methods and many hormonal contraceptives including Depo-Provera, a hormone shot that can prevent pregnancy for months at a time.

"The goal is to prevent unintended pregnancy so the couple can create the goals they are going for," Galloway said. Some of these goals may be becoming financially stable, finishing school and getting jobs, she said.

For Brandon's wife, Stephanie Forster, senior in Spanish education, going on the pill wasn't a hard decision.

"It's such a norm that I was used to the idea," she said. She added that even if there was more options for men, women may still feel pressure to be on birth control because of the stress of ending up pregnant.

"If she's not married and the girl has multiple partners, she would have to be on birth control. The guy wouldn't take it because the girl is going to be at more risk than the guy," she said.

Critics of male birth control say men lack women's motivation to prevent pregnancy which would make it hard for a woman to trust her companion to take a pill or participate in hormonal injections, according to an article by Fiona Macrae that printed in 2006 on dailymail.co.uk., a UK and world news Web site.

Jeremy and Janalee said they believe lying about taking birth control would happen more in dating relationships than marriages.

"The guy wouldn't care if she gets pregnant because he could just leave her," Janalee said.

Current effects of birth control

Hormonal birth control for women does have its side effects.

"Everyone has different hormone levels," Stephanie said. "The first pill I was on made me go psycho. Sometimes I didn't know if my marriage was going to last. I always made fun of drama queen girls and then for three months I was one."

Stephanie eventually went back to her doctor and tried a different pill and has been fine ever since. She said women need to make sure they are on the right pill. If they are suddenly very emotionally unstable, they should see a doctor and change what they are using. Even then, women need to be careful.

"I had a friend that switched and got pregnant on the new pill she was taking," Brandon said.

If women plan on going on birth control when they get married, Stephanie said thinking ahead of time is a good idea.