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from the if-you-build-it-they-will-come dept.
Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd
After more than a decade of work, government researchers in the U.S. are ready to test an unusual birth control method for men—a topical gel that could prevent the production of sperm.
And no, gentlemen, you don't rub it on your genitals.
The clinical trial, which begins in April and will run for about four years, will be the largest effort in the U.S. to test a hormonal form of birth control for men.
[...] The new gel contains two synthetic hormones, progestin and testosterone. Progestin blocks the testes from making enough testosterone to produce normal levels of sperm. The replacement testosterone is needed to counteract the hormone imbalances the progestin causes but won't make the body produce sperm.
[...] The gel can suppress sperm levels for about 72 hours, so if men forget a dose, "there is a bit of forgiveness," says Régine Sitruk-Ware, distinguished scientist at the Population Council, a nonprofit for reproductive health that is sponsoring the trial alongside the NIH.
[...] Even if the trial is successful, Blithe says it will likely be several years before the gel would be available to the public.
Source: A Contraceptive Gel for Men Is About to Go on Trial (archive)
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Aiwendil on Thursday December 21 2017, @12:04PM (2 children)
Matter of training*, routine, and that the sideeffects of an emergency-contraceptive-pill makes the sideeffects of normal contraceptive pills seem downright enjoyable. Also it is the entire lingering thing that it is "the girls responsibility to deal with it" which means the pill is the easier way.
Do people not discuss this with their female friends?
* = Take a look at sex-ed, the girls' basically is "this is how your body will be fscked up and you forget the pill and allow him in without a condom" while the boy's is "this is how to use a condom, and a child is about as expensive as a porsche car [but we'll never tell you how much such a car costs]"
However, if you want men to remember it - develop it combined with shaving cream, it is easier to hijack a routine than to establish a new one.
(Score: 2) by unauthorized on Thursday December 21 2017, @07:43PM (1 child)
Well it should be. If I engage in a dangerous enterprise with you - let's say a free range lion ranch - and we agree that you will be the one running the books while I would be the one working with the kitties, then why should you have any responsibility for my safety? Suppose somewhere down the line, I happen to injure myself because lions are just dangerous, or worse, because I didn't take proper safety measures by deceiving you. Are you liable for my injury?
If one has the right to do something, they should also bear full responsibility for doing it. If you demand that we don't hold women accountable for their decisions, then you are demanding that we should treat them like children or the mentally incapable.
(Score: 2) by Aiwendil on Thursday December 21 2017, @10:45PM
My views are so far outside the normal box I'd need to write a book to properly convey them - but let's just say that system would end unwanted pregnancies and solve the issue of looming overpopulation as well.
To answer the rhetorics:
I should have some share in the responsibilities in so far as helping to make sure proper safety gear and training is available and also make sure my first aid training is up to date - especially if I'm the one handling the books.
But to answer the question instead of the rhetorics:
It should only be the girls' responsibility as long as they lie about contraceptives - other than that use a friggin' condom and refuse sex otherwise. In the case of a non-lie snafu then it should be a shared responsibility.
(And to preempt, obligation and responsibility are different things)