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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday March 20 2018, @02:16PM   Printer-friendly
from the hairy-knuckles dept.

https://gizmodo.com/a-once-a-day-male-birth-control-pill-shows-promise-in-h-1823890390

One of the latest experimental candidates for a male birth control drug is a compound that would be taken much like the daily birth control pill available for women. A pilot study presented Sunday at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting suggests that the compound—called dimethandrolone undecanoate (DMAU)—can be safe and effective in human test subjects.

[...] DMAU is meant to act on the same receptors as testosterone and progestin. But it seems to be more easily absorbed by the body and longer-lasting. That theoretically means a single dose a day (when taken with food) should cause sterility without leading to other serious consequences, the authors say.

[...] The few side effects Page's team observed were weight gain and lowered levels of HDL cholesterol (the "good" kind). But they feel a tweaked dose could alleviate these symptoms. Importantly, the pill didn't seem to cause any other lasting symptoms of low testosterone. Eight men in the treatment group did report lower libido, but the effect faded away after treatment had ended.


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Immerman on Tuesday March 20 2018, @03:48PM (45 children)

    by Immerman (3985) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @03:48PM (#655431)

    I think you're thinking of vasogel and similar mechanical/chemical male birth control options, which are injected into the vas deferens and remain active for years.

    This one clearly states, even in the summary, that it's a once-a-day hormonal birth control pill.

    The tragic part is that effective male birth control pills have been in testing for years (decades), but it never gets beyond testing phase because of side effects that are pretty much already commonly associated with female birth control. Damned double standards - what, they don't think men can handle them? Or is it just okay to subject women to them, but not men?

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Bot on Tuesday March 20 2018, @04:14PM (22 children)

    by Bot (3902) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @04:14PM (#655450) Journal

    >Or is it just okay to subject women to them, but not men?

    Female fails taking the pill => female gets pregnant.
    Male fails taking the pill => female gets pregnant.

    Now, who's gonna take the pill more willingly?

    There is no equality when the stakes are different. The same system that pushed for equality destroyed the institution of marriage which would have forced male meatbags to be more responsible about meatbagging around. It seems to me the system wants chaos leading to state sponsored in vitro eugenics.

    I guess some of you will pine for the robocalypse too, in the end.

    --
    Account abandoned.
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday March 20 2018, @04:17PM (3 children)

      What do you mean "in the end"? Some of us have been working on SkyNet for quite a while now.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @04:35PM (5 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @04:35PM (#655466)

      Uh, you do realize how women have constructed the law to force me to financially compensate them for all expenses of childrearing while depriving the man of any contact with his child?

      Hell, half the time, the woman just identifies the wealthiest guy she was fucking around the time conception as the father and tries to block genetic evidence in court. It's called paternity fraud, and women do it constantly. Look it up.

      The woman takes no risks. She will be provided for. She will also gain the status of Mother, which, I guess, we're supposed to hypnotically respond to as though she's a good person or something.

      You women, Bot, are going to push things too far. World War 3 might be what does it. You're going to get knocked down a few notches, and you won't like it.

      But keep playing your games of objectifying half the planet's population while you get fat on welfare. (Translation: while you get fat on using thugs with guns to steal the wealth of people without wombs who engage in all of the production that lets you have your shiny SUVs to cart around all your "accomplishments.")

      • (Score: 2) by quacking duck on Tuesday March 20 2018, @05:01PM

        by quacking duck (1395) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @05:01PM (#655487)

        It's called paternity fraud, and women do it constantly

        Not all women.

        /micDrop

      • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @05:24PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @05:24PM (#655505)

        Spotted the homo.

      • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:47PM

        by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:47PM (#655588) Journal

        Of all the things I've seen Bot called, or thought of calling Bot, "woman" is not one of them. How could ANYONE mistake that jackass for a woman?

        --
        I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
      • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Thexalon on Tuesday March 20 2018, @09:58PM

        by Thexalon (636) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @09:58PM (#655651)

        1. Men are mostly responsible for how the law looks right now. They are the majority of judges, the majority of legislators at all levels, and the majority of governors.

        2. The default arrangement throughout most of the country these days is for shared custody of the kids, and child support for only up to half of the total costs of childbearing. It sounds like that didn't happen to you, in which case the court determined that you would make a terrible parent.

        That said, as a guy I'm all for an effective male pill. I'd love to be able to get it on without having to wrap anything up and not have to worry about pregnancy. And if she's on her pill, even better, since that means that if both methods are 99% effective the odds of an unexpected pregnancy are reduced by 99.99% rather than just 99%. There's still the disease issue, of course, but regular STD testing should be part of the medical standard practice for sexually active humans.

        --
        The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
      • (Score: 2) by Bot on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:48AM

        by Bot (3902) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:48AM (#655972) Journal

        > Uh, you do realize how women have constructed the law to force me to financially compensate them for all expenses of childrearing while depriving the man of any contact with his child?

        this makes the new gen of men avoid marriage, so it is obviously part of the chaos I was speaking about.

        --
        Account abandoned.
    • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Arik on Tuesday March 20 2018, @04:36PM (10 children)

      by Arik (4543) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @04:36PM (#655467) Journal
      "Female fails taking the pill => female gets pregnant.
      Male fails taking the pill => female gets pregnant.

      Now, who's gonna take the pill more willingly?"

      Female gets pregnant - female gets to choose. She can abort, or she can keep it - and force him to support them both. He gets no say in the matter, not even if he was raped.

      So your answer is obviously the male.

      --
      If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
      • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday March 20 2018, @06:48PM (9 children)

        by DeathMonkey (1380) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @06:48PM (#655555) Journal

        Much like democracy it's the least worst option.

        Unless you think you have the right to force a woman to get a medical procedure...

        • (Score: 2) by Arik on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:03PM (7 children)

          by Arik (4543) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:03PM (#655569) Journal
          No, you're setting up a false dichotomy.

          There is no reason you can't be pro-choice and still against things like this: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/02/statutory-rape-victim-child-support/14953965/

          --
          If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
          • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:39PM (6 children)

            by DeathMonkey (1380) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:39PM (#655584) Journal

            ...against things like Alleged Statutory Rape Victim Ordered To Pay $15,000 In Child Support [huffingtonpost.com]

            And yes, statutory rapists should not be entitled to child support from their victims.

            Statutory rape is a crime, though, and you are innocent until proven guilty of said crime.

            Making a rape victim pay child support may sound cruel and unusual, but an official for the Arizona Department of Economic Security said assuring support for the child is the main priority.

            The only exception, Newser reports, is when the parent suing for support has actually been convicted of sexual assault with a minor — and Olivas never filed charges against the alleged abuser.

            So the law handles the case where a statutory rapist wants child support while also acknowledging innocence-until-proven-guilty. Like I said, the least-worst-option...

               

            • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Arik on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:50PM (5 children)

              by Arik (4543) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:50PM (#655591) Journal
              "Statutory rape is a crime, though, and you are innocent until proven guilty of said crime."

              There's no question of guilt here, however. Given his age, and the age of his daughter, there can be no question the crime took place. Unless it's really not his daughter, in which case she's committing fraud.

              This is FAR from a least bad option. It's an absurdly bad, society-destroying option, in fact.
              --
              If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
              • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday March 20 2018, @09:55PM (4 children)

                by DeathMonkey (1380) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @09:55PM (#655646) Journal

                There is no statute of limitations on statutory rape in Arizona. [rainn.org]

                If he feels he was the victim of a crime he needs to file charges.

                If he can't be bothered what exactly is the legal system supposed to do about it?

                • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Arik on Tuesday March 20 2018, @10:16PM (2 children)

                  by Arik (4543) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @10:16PM (#655661) Journal
                  Men are carefully conditioned to not claim victimhood, and that's still a red herring.

                  The issue is the responsibility. If (as the statutory rape law and many others presume) that he was not capable of giving consent to the initial sex act. When she found out she was pregnant, he was not even informed. It was her choice and hers alone to bear the child, she had no obligation to even let him know he had a daughter, but somehow it's his responsibility to pay her child support because she raped him? That's absolutely absurd. Just reverse the genders and no one would tolerate it for a second.

                  --
                  If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
                  • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday March 20 2018, @11:14PM (1 child)

                    by DeathMonkey (1380) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @11:14PM (#655704) Journal

                    ..but somehow it's his responsibility to pay her child support because she raped him?

                    No he doesn't, that's my whole point. The law explicitly says he does not need to pay if she raped him.

                    However, he does need to show up at his paternity case to defend himself. Or, he can file rape charges and get out of the payments that way (if she's convicted). He did neither.

                    What definitely won't happen is the court system gaining telepathic superpowers and judging his case based on arguments he has never made.

                    • (Score: 2) by Arik on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:41PM

                      by Arik (4543) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:41PM (#656135) Journal
                      You twist the context so baldly it's hard to believe it's not conscious. But I'll presume it's not one more time and explain this for you.

                      "The law explicitly says he does not need to pay if she raped him."

                      No. An employee at the Arizona Department of Economic Security says it's the current policy of that department to not file charges if she raped him. That's something quite different from the law actually saying so. His department is not the only entity which can file such a suit, and there is nothing to stop his department from changing its policy at any time as well. The law explicitly says that he can be made to pay for his genetic offspring with no regard whatsoever to the circumstances of their conception.

                      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermesmann_v._Seyer
                      http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-12-22/features/9612220045_1_pay-child-support-child-support-behalf
                      --
                      If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @10:21AM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @10:21AM (#656010)

                  If he feels he was the victim of a crime he needs to file charges.

                  Wait, since when is rape handled in a civil suit?

                  For criminal cases, it's the job of the state to prosecute, not the victim. And in the case of statutory rape, it should be pretty easy: The information and evidence to get her awarded child support is the exact same as what's needed to convict her of rape. She can't claim that he is the father without admitting statutory rape, at which point it becomes the states job to prosecute, without him needing to file any charges.

        • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:14PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:14PM (#655578)

          I think it's not right to force an unborn baby to have a medical procedure on its body that involves blending him or her. When our technology advances a bit and we can keep the baby alive outside the female's body by taking her uterus with it, I would say losing your uterus would be a fitting punishment for getting knocked-up and not wanting the baby. You are guaranteed to not make the same mistake again!

    • (Score: 2) by wisnoskij on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:38PM

      by wisnoskij (5149) <{jonathonwisnoski} {at} {gmail.com}> on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:38PM (#656133)

      Female fails taking the pill => Female gets to choose between (Female is out something between nothing and a few hundred depending on location, etc)||(Female gets about a quarter million, payable over the course of the next fifteen years).
      Male fails taking the pill => Male is out about a quarter million, payable over the course of the next 18 years.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday March 20 2018, @04:14PM (5 children)

    It's not really the side effects. We're just not willing to give up a perfectly good argument in favor of recreational sodomy.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Tuesday March 20 2018, @11:07PM (1 child)

      by Thexalon (636) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @11:07PM (#655698)

      The only argument for recreational sodomy is "it's fun for the people involved". If it's not fun, then guess what, you don't do it.

      --
      The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @11:19PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @11:19PM (#655708)

        And I thought it was "Naval tradition".

    • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:04AM (2 children)

      by Reziac (2489) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:04AM (#655892) Homepage

      "The few side effects Page's team observed were weight gain and lowered levels of HDL cholesterol (the "good" kind)."

      And this was only a one-month trial. That's rather ominous for such a short trial.

      From TFA: "By experiment’s end, the volunteers who took DMAU experienced a drop in their levels of testosterone and two other hormones involved in producing sperm, which was starkest in those who took the highest dose."

      Long-term... I'd bet on heart disease, osteoporosis, depression, and a sharp increase in certain types of cancer. Basically the same effects as castration.

      Here's a healthier, safer option for male birth control: don't stick your dick in crazy.

      --
      And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
      • (Score: 3, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday March 21 2018, @10:46AM (1 child)

        by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday March 21 2018, @10:46AM (#656028) Homepage Journal

        Here's a healthier, safer option for male birth control: don't stick your dick in crazy.

        The crazy ones are usually amazing in the sack though.

        --
        My rights don't end where your fear begins.
        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Reziac on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:11PM

          by Reziac (2489) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:11PM (#656165) Homepage

          Does explain how so many of 'em manage to reproduce.

          --
          And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @04:29PM (10 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @04:29PM (#655464)

    Damned double standards - what, they don't think men can handle them?

    They don't want men to have "my body, my choice."

    Another part of the subliminal programming that goes on in the moon matrix every time this comes up is the notion that men will not be able to take this pill on a daily basis. Men will forget. Men are not individuals who are capable of making their own decisions according to feminism.

    Women believe that their wombs make them "superior beings." They view everybody who is legally male as nothing more than a sexual-financial object. In fact, it's easy to tell that this whole "superior beings" shit is bigotry because when was the last time a womyn-born-womyn ever checked that somebody else in the "womyn-born-womyn club" actually was reproductively capable? When was the last time they ever verified that somebody else in the womyn-born-womyn club menstruated regularly? Are their hips strong enough to safely give vaginal birth?

    Oh no, but that would be objectification were we to do it somebody with the status of womyn-born-womyn.

    Nothing but pure bigotry that's escaped any relation to actual biology.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @04:46PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @04:46PM (#655472)

      Another part of the subliminal programming that goes on in the moon matrix every time this comes up is the notion that men will not be able to take this pill on a daily basis. Men will forget. Men are not individuals who are capable of making their own decisions according to feminism.

      This did in fact come up in the Gizmodo comments.

      Last time I checked, the stores sell a plastic box with S M T W T F S labeled on it.

      • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Tuesday March 20 2018, @06:52PM

        by Immerman (3985) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @06:52PM (#655558)

        Hell, women's birth control pills come in nice little "bubble sheet" packs with those labels already on them - some even have seven different stickers to put on depending on which day you started taking them.

    • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday March 20 2018, @06:54PM

      by DeathMonkey (1380) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @06:54PM (#655561) Journal

      You're free to put a condom on your body. That's your choice.

      And the day you manage to get yourself impregnated I'll be happy to help you pay for your abortion.

    • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:52PM (6 children)

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:52PM (#655592) Journal

      This is, what, three comments by the same AC harping on this bizarre conspiracy theory that somehow it's *women* who control the world and are mind-controlling all Thuh Menz (TM) with, I don't know, vaginal EM waves or something?

      Buddy, something is wrong with you. If you can't get laid, it's not because of "hypergamy." It's likely because you're nuttier than a sack of squirrel scrotums. If we actually controlled this world, there would be a HELL of a lot less war, for one thing. Hint: men hurting and killing other men for access to women does not mean society is gynocentric. It means men act like barbarians when it comes to women. Just TALK to us like normal human beings! We're not aliens!

      --
      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
      • (Score: 5, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday March 20 2018, @08:01PM (5 children)

        by DeathMonkey (1380) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @08:01PM (#655598) Journal

        I love how the women who wouldn't even vote until the 20's and have made up the vast minority of the legislature since then somehow managed to cram all these laws through.

        • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday March 20 2018, @08:03PM

          by DeathMonkey (1380) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @08:03PM (#655601) Journal

          oops..Couldn't....

        • (Score: 3, Funny) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday March 20 2018, @08:22PM (2 children)

          by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @08:22PM (#655605) Journal

          Okay, I'll admit it, it's all because of the Eval Bagyna Deth Lazarz of Mind-Controlly DOOOOOOM~! We're all taught to do this by a coven of lesbian bisexual feminist transgender agender bigender womyn-born-womyn Witches wielding battle axes at what's supposed to be yoga classes. They kind of are, since we need to actually do a handstand, bend our lower bodies forward *over* our heads, and spread our legs in order to unleash the beam.

          And now that you know our secret, I'll have to kill you. But only with enveloping, encircling weapons, because bullets, projectiles, and blades are phallic symbols.

          :V

          --
          I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
          • (Score: 3, Funny) by Thexalon on Tuesday March 20 2018, @10:03PM

            by Thexalon (636) on Tuesday March 20 2018, @10:03PM (#655655)

            And here I was thinking the conspiracy was being organized under the name "Oprah's Book Club". Or at least, as the communications system, by spreading messages in what appeared to be just a normal work of fiction, but if you put the secret decoder plate over the page it spells out NOBODY BANG FRED JONES.

            --
            The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
          • (Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Tuesday March 20 2018, @10:24PM

            Okay, I'll admit it, it's all because of the Eval Bagyna Deth Lazarz of Mind-Controlly DOOOOOOM~! We're all taught to do this by a coven of lesbian bisexual feminist transgender agender bigender womyn-born-womyn Witches wielding battle axes at what's supposed to be yoga classes. They kind of are, since we need to actually do a handstand, bend our lower bodies forward *over* our heads, and spread our legs in order to unleash the beam.

            And now that you know our secret, I'll have to kill you. But only with enveloping, encircling weapons, because bullets, projectiles, and blades are phallic symbols.

            :V

            Stop spreading conspiracy theories, Azuma. We all know the truth. All this oppression by women came about because no man could resist the raw sexual power of Bella Abzug!

            I suppose this topic is just another reminder to you how grateful you should be about being a lesbian, huh? It sure makes me glad to be a hetero male!

            --
            No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @10:24AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @10:24AM (#656012)

          You never met a man who does as his wife tells him to?

          It's the way women always have been wielding power without taking responsibility.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @06:08PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @06:08PM (#655526)

    If men could get away with having mood swings who will be held responsible for all the things that are wrong with this world?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:52PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:52PM (#655593)

    The reason this has failed in the past is that it's just more complicated than it is for women. Women have a cycle that repeats over of a period of roughly a month, interfering with that cycle in a way that prevents pregnancy was relatively straightforward compared to what's required for men.

    In men, it's tricky because we're constantly producing new special men and those are the ones that get released. If the pill stops the production in the wrong way, it can lead to permanent sterility. It can also result in the same sorts of hormonal problems that birth control pills can have for women.

    When all is said and done, this is a great step forward, but I personally wouldn't recommend any men use it that haven't already had the children they want, just in case the whole thing turns out to be more damaging that the research indicates.

  • (Score: 2) by unauthorized on Wednesday March 21 2018, @01:04AM (2 children)

    by unauthorized (3776) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @01:04AM (#655769)

    The tragic part is that effective male birth control pills have been in testing for years (decades), but it never gets beyond testing phase because of side effects that are pretty much already commonly associated with female birth control.

    I see SN is becoming a fine hub for nutty conspiracy theories. Maybe we should get on some of that Wikipedia action eh?

    I call bullshit. I believe you cannot present us even one proposed male birth control treatment whose negative effects are equally or less severe than comparative female treatments.

    • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:43PM (1 child)

      by Immerman (3985) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:43PM (#656183)

      Worse than risking permanent, total loss of libido, permanent sterility, and even uncontrollable herniation and death? Perhaps you should investigate just how bad the known side effects for female birth control can be.

      • (Score: 2) by unauthorized on Thursday March 22 2018, @03:34AM

        by unauthorized (3776) on Thursday March 22 2018, @03:34AM (#656469)

        Of course I would examine the undesired effects in female birth control methods, but I can't compare them to the undesired effects of male birth control methods unless you tell me which one you believe is as suitable for the market as it's female-targeted counterparts. Knowing some of the potential downsides is not enough, most drugs have severe potential side effect such as permanent injury and death, but we tend to allow some of those and not others, based not only on the worst potential outcome, but also on how likely they the side effects are to occur in relation to concurrent treatments as well as in relation to the severity of the issue being addressed.