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posted by cmn32480 on Saturday November 05 2016, @05:19AM   Printer-friendly
from the no-pitter-patter-of-little-feet dept.

Whether it's an IUD, a shot, an implant, or a daily pill, birth control is a regular part of many adult women's lives. It has left a lot of women asking: Why not men?

For years, people have tried to create birth control for men. The World Health Organization commissioned what sounded like a promising trial, a two-hormone injection designed to lower sperm count. Initial results looked like it would be 96 percent effective in preventing pregnancy in the participants' partners. But the Stage II trial was stopped after an independent review panel found that the drug had too many side effects. The results were published last week in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

All Things Considered's Audie Cornish sat down with NPR science correspondent Rob Stein to discuss the trial and the reason it was canceled. Here are excerpts of their conversation, edited for length and clarity.

...

they realized that a lot of guys were dropping out because they were experiencing side effects. The most common side effect was acne, and sometimes that acne was pretty severe. Some men also developed mood swings and in some cases those mood swings got pretty bad. One man developed severe depression, and another tried to commit suicide. Because of that, they cut the study short.


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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @05:55AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @05:55AM (#422750)

    People are comparing ethical standards from the 1950s (when icepick lobotomies were still condoned) and are demanding a horrendous step backwards in the name of some misguided sense of “equality”.

    With the ugly history male birth control has had, we get to see how vicious some women are yet again.

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @09:52AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @09:52AM (#422790)

      Calm down. You aren't going to be forced to take it, you know.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @02:26PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @02:26PM (#422840)

        For now...

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @04:53PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @04:53PM (#422878)
        You're right.

        In fact men won't be ALLOWED to take it. The pushback will be massive to put a stop to it when it's viable.
    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by ikanreed on Saturday November 05 2016, @02:42PM

      by ikanreed (3164) Subscriber Badge on Saturday November 05 2016, @02:42PM (#422844) Journal

      When did "Misandry" become a code word for "I don't want to think about the widely applied double standards of society?"

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 06 2016, @01:53AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 06 2016, @01:53AM (#422977)

        When the double standard is applied punitively.

        The equivalent would be that women finally accept the responsibility national defense; they are subjected to mustard gas to make up for centuries of never being on the battlefield.

        That would be misogyny.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by riT-k0MA on Saturday November 05 2016, @06:07AM

    by riT-k0MA (88) on Saturday November 05 2016, @06:07AM (#422752)

    This appears to be a duplicate of a story posted on 29 October 2016:

    https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=16/10/29/0052237 [soylentnews.org]

    • (Score: 4, Informative) by t-3 on Saturday November 05 2016, @06:10AM

      by t-3 (4907) on Saturday November 05 2016, @06:10AM (#422754)

      It's not a duplicate, it's an update.

      • (Score: 2) by aristarchus on Saturday November 05 2016, @06:29AM

        by aristarchus (2645) on Saturday November 05 2016, @06:29AM (#422758) Journal

        But an update with no new information is a duplicate, is it not? Besides, I read the title as

        Males Killed After Birth Control Study Complains About Side Effects

        Fits the MRA agenda better, don't you think?

        • (Score: 2) by t-3 on Saturday November 05 2016, @06:41AM

          by t-3 (4907) on Saturday November 05 2016, @06:41AM (#422760)

          You're right, after examining a little closer it is a dup, I was thinking this one presented some new info about the study being cancelled, but it doesn't the summary of the other article is justed worded more ambiguously so I misread. I'm interested in what the MRA angle could possibly be? Male birth control should be a huge win for MRA's as I see it, if it works they don't have to be afraid of paying child support. Are they claiming it got cancelled as a feminist plot to control reproductive rights or something?

          • (Score: 2, Troll) by aristarchus on Saturday November 05 2016, @07:42AM

            by aristarchus (2645) on Saturday November 05 2016, @07:42AM (#422766) Journal

            I claim no special insight into the MRA psyche, but I have to say that what they seem to believe is that what does not kill you makes you stronger, and what is willing to fuck you will kill you. Preying Mantis humans, basically. Or male Black Widows. Not real men, by any stretch of the imagination. Male reproductive rights are the inverse of female reproductive rights. Women say: "Only if I want this child will I carry it to term." Fair enough, it's your body. Pay rent, or get the hell out. Men's Rights Assholes say: "I knocked her up fair and square, with only minimal use of alcohol, so she has to be my baby's bitch for nine months, y'all! Score! Am I right?" And the answer is, you pathetic excuse for a man. Man up, you pussy! Donald Trump is here to grab you, you poor excuse for a man! Right by your Mexicans! So, see? Men's Rights Assholes: they should just admit that they are . . . .

            • (Score: 1, Troll) by aristarchus on Saturday November 05 2016, @07:55AM

              by aristarchus (2645) on Saturday November 05 2016, @07:55AM (#422768) Journal

              Modded troll after calling Men's Rights Asphaltics out? Could it be! Francis! Is that you, you poor excuse for a man? If not, whoever you are, you are just as poor an excuse for a man, and all us real men will be looking for you in shower, at the Y, or in the Gym, or in the Big House. Don't drop the soap, and be worried, be very worried.

              • (Score: -1, Troll) by aristarchus on Saturday November 05 2016, @08:10AM

                by aristarchus (2645) on Saturday November 05 2016, @08:10AM (#422770) Journal

                Oh, NOES! Modded troll for complaining about being modded troll by pansy pretend men? Where will this all end? Well, I think we all know where it will end. In your end. You are not fooling anyone Francis! We will find you, and we will make you pay child support, you pathetic man-child not fit to be an actual father person, you!

                Besides, it would be nice to have reversible birth control for men, but the problem, as pointed out much earlier, is one of trust. Trust me , babe, I'm on the pill. See, you men's rights asspholicants? Same line, now coming from you? And you expect any rational woman to believe you? If you even think of saying something like this, you might be a rapist.

                • (Score: 2, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday November 05 2016, @09:39AM

                  by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Saturday November 05 2016, @09:39AM (#422786) Homepage Journal

                  Sorry, couldn't help but keep the running gag going at this point.

                  --
                  My rights don't end where your fear begins.
                  • (Score: 2) by deimtee on Saturday November 05 2016, @11:15AM

                    by deimtee (3272) on Saturday November 05 2016, @11:15AM (#422800) Journal

                    Yeah, me too.

                    --
                    If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
                  • (Score: 2) by Marand on Sunday November 06 2016, @05:57AM

                    by Marand (1081) on Sunday November 06 2016, @05:57AM (#423033) Journal

                    Yeah, I'll admit I modded all three comments troll just to keep it going too. It's like when someone complains about getting a Funny mod for a serious comment, so then everyone starts piling Funny mods onto the complaint (and followups) for the humour of it. (I recall seeing that happen here not too long ago, too.)

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @10:47PM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @10:47PM (#422937)

                  it would be nice to have reversible birth control for men

                  Why, when we can knock 'em up, leave 'em, and come back for more?

              • (Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @02:00PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @02:00PM (#422833)

                Fitting your concept of manhood involves rape and intimidation.

        • (Score: 2) by mcgrew on Saturday November 05 2016, @03:10PM

          by mcgrew (701) <publish@mcgrewbooks.com> on Saturday November 05 2016, @03:10PM (#422853) Homepage Journal

          What the fuck is an A magnetic resonance angiogram agenda and why in the hell do you expect me to have a clue what it is?

          --
          mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @09:56AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @09:56AM (#422791)

    If any of the side effects were to increase the size of your dingdong, there would be no complaints of about any side effects.

    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @01:55PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @01:55PM (#422832)

      How does a larger penis increase the man's pleasure?

      Especially compared to not worrying whether a random fling will result in an 18 year long installment plan?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 07 2016, @10:31PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 07 2016, @10:31PM (#423797)

      Yes dudes would be all over it and the side effects would get it banned.

  • (Score: 2) by wisnoskij on Saturday November 05 2016, @12:23PM

    by wisnoskij (5149) <{jonathonwisnoski} {at} {gmail.com}> on Saturday November 05 2016, @12:23PM (#422809)

    Wow, that must be a lot of side effects. Have you seen any of the drug commercials in the last decade. No drug is advertised without 5 minutes of the presentation going to listing off the dozen of serious side effects.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by theluggage on Saturday November 05 2016, @02:03PM

      by theluggage (1797) on Saturday November 05 2016, @02:03PM (#422834)

      Have you seen any of the drug commercials in the last decade. No drug is advertised without 5 minutes of the presentation going to listing off the dozen of serious side effects.

      Yes, and those side effects include ones that are (going from the docs for one of my meds) "very common (1:10)", "common (1-10 per 100)", "uncommon" (1-10 per 1000), "rare" (1-10 per 10,000) and "very rare" (less than 1 per 10,000). If side-effects like "severe depression and attempted suicide" (RTFA) turned up in the first two categories then you wouldn't be seeing those drugs used outside life-or-death circumstances - and certainly not just as a convenient alternative to sticking a bit of latex on your wang.

      This study had 320 participants - any side effect that showed up would have to be in the "common" or "very common" categories. They had more than one "severe depression" and one "attempted suicide". That's back to the drawing board for a drug that would potentially be used by hundreds of millions worldwide.

      For a widely used drug, an unpredicted side effect in the "rare" or "very rare" is enough for scandals and lawyers at dawn.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @10:54PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @10:54PM (#422940)

        If a man gets too depressed to bang, the birth control is working. ☺

        If a man suicides, that's even better. It actually reduces the population. ☺

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @01:18PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @01:18PM (#422820)
    This place seems to have fallen for the feminist slant of shaming the men in the study as the main take of the story.

    When 75% of the men in the study said they would use the drug anyway despite the side effects!

    It might kill you or render you sterile. Give you acne and mood swings. And the answer was...
    "WOOHOO! UNDETECTABLE MALE BIRTH CONTROL! FUCK YEAH! TAKE MY MONEY! GIMME!"

    Think about WHY for a few minutes...
    • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @01:47PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @01:47PM (#422829)

      There was a similar birth control trial for men in the early 90s to which the response from feminist ran the gamut of men not being trustworthy enough to control their reproduction except by means verifiable by women to chastising about concerns over long term effects to the arrogant waste of pursuing male birth control when funding could have been spent solving the problems with other methods for women.

      And of course:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JymN5yu-K_o&t=204s [youtube.com]

      The desire for more options for birth control for men has been around since at least the past 60 years. The arguments against follow the same predictable pattern, and always from the same sectors.

      • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @04:49PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @04:49PM (#422876)
        It's going to be amazing. Anyone younger than 50 is going to see the massive change to the socio-sexual landscape.

        With male birth control, virtual reality and 'sexbots'.
        Women are finally going to get that absolute equality they always say they wanted.

        Altho there are actually womens groups against all 3 out there already.
        They see the writing on the wall for their fugly asses.

        The fallout of butthurt when it gets here is going to be EPIC.
        • (Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Thursday November 10 2016, @01:50PM

          by Rivenaleem (3400) on Thursday November 10 2016, @01:50PM (#425112)

          This is quite ironic, since the only truly secure way for a man to have sex with a woman with the guarantee of no children already involves some butt hurt.

    • (Score: 1) by purple_cobra on Saturday November 05 2016, @04:26PM

      by purple_cobra (1435) on Saturday November 05 2016, @04:26PM (#422872)
      An alternative take here at the New Statesman [newstatesman.com]. Personally I find the author to be a bit of a reactionary/professionally offended person who far too often lets the perfect be the enemy of the good, but she made the point that it wasn't the participants who (effectively) stopped the trial, rather it was the organisers.
  • (Score: 5, Informative) by mcgrew on Saturday November 05 2016, @03:08PM

    by mcgrew (701) <publish@mcgrewbooks.com> on Saturday November 05 2016, @03:08PM (#422852) Homepage Journal

    WOMEN asking?? Women have a myriad of choices, including forgoing birth control and lying to their partner about it. Then when she gets pregnant, the poor sucker whose only BC choices are a permanent vasectomy (SURGERY!), a condom that his partner has to agree with, and chastity has to pay child support for the next couple of decades.

    The man is FORCED into parenthood if he wants sex. No woman is ever forced into parenthood in the west.

    But oh, no, spin this into a woman's issue. How fucking stupid!

    Give men a CHOICE over their procreation. Women claim it as a right. He wants a kid ans she doesn't? Abortion. She wants a kid and he doesn't? Birth.

    Christ, but people are stupid!

    --
    mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
    • (Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @10:27PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 05 2016, @10:27PM (#422932)

      Give men a CHOICE over their procreation. Women claim it as a right. He wants a kid ans she doesn't? Abortion. She wants a kid and he doesn't? Birth.
      Christ, but people are stupid!

      Uh don't fuck those bitches then? People are really stupid.

      The man is FORCED into parenthood if he wants sex.

      You HAVE a choice, if she doesn't want you using a condom, you don't have to fuck her. What is she going to do, rape you?

      If you enjoy fucking women who'd do stuff like that, or can't figure simple stuff like that out, please sterilize yourself and take yourself out of the gene pool. We need fewer people like you and your preferred sex partners in this world.

      p.s. Yes, I'm an asshole, but at least I'm not breeding. And definitely not breeding with terrible genetic material.

  • (Score: 2) by https on Saturday November 05 2016, @11:15PM

    by https (5248) on Saturday November 05 2016, @11:15PM (#422943) Journal

    Major side effects didn't stop pharma from pushing Birth Control Pills on women.

    --
    Offended and laughing about it.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 07 2016, @10:36PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 07 2016, @10:36PM (#423804)

      That was when we had all sorts of dangerous medication and the pharma companies got sued badly and some places in the world there is still deep distrust of all birth control pills which impacts their ability to even get approval for new pills.

      I think they're trying to avoid it. As soon as this hits the market there will be lawyers all over this.