The quest for a reliable and safe birth control pill for men has been a long and arduous journey. Despite numerous proposals and clinical trials over the last half-century, no male contraceptive pill has been approved for widespread use. However, recent breakthroughs in male birth control research have ignited fresh hope that the elusive “male pill” may soon become a reality.
The story of the male contraceptive pill dates back to 1968, when a young man being treated for schizophrenia made an awkward observation to his psychiatrist. He had been taking a drug called thioridazine when he noticed that his orgasms had become “dry,” lacking ejaculation. This led researchers to explore other drugs with a similar ejaculation-suppressing effect, eventually discovering the blood pressure medication phenoxybenzamine. Although neither drug was safe enough to be given to healthy men, the search continued for a way to replicate their mechanism with a safer alternative.
Years of research followed, but the quest for a male contraceptive pill hit a major snag. While a safe and effective male pill would have the potential to unburden women of the responsibility for contraception and prevent millions of unwanted pregnancies every year, some men found the idea of an invisible orgasm unappealing. For a proportion of men, the so-called “clean sheets” pill was seen as emasculating. As a result, the funding for male contraceptive research was eventually withdrawn, and researchers were sent back to the drawing board.
Despite this setback, researchers never gave up on their quest to create a male contraceptive pill. Today, their persistence is paying off as recent research has identified a promising new target for male birth control. A molecular switch that can stun sperm for two hours has been found, rendering its taker temporarily infertile. This protein has been hailed as a game-changer, but it still has a long way to go before it is approved for use in humans.
One of the reasons why it has been so difficult to get approval for male contraceptive pills is that each proposed method has eventually met a brick wall, even those that are safe and effective. The undesirable side effects have been the main reason for the rejection of several male pills. Interestingly, some of the side effects that caused male birth control pills to fail are extremely common among women taking female versions. This raises the question of whether the challenges facing male birth control are more cultural than scientific.
Despite these challenges, researchers are not giving up. Recent studies in mice have identified a new “on-demand” male birth control drug that can temporarily prevent sperm from maturing and swimming. The drug stops sperm from maturing and swimming within 30 minutes of being injected into lab mice, and fertility is fully restored within 24 hours. The drug is non-hormonal and has the potential to provide equity between the sexes, revolutionizing family planning, and alleviate unwanted side effects that a chronic medication could have.
In conclusion, while the journey to develop a male contraceptive pill has been long and difficult, recent breakthroughs in male birth control research offer new hope. With the potential to provide equity between the sexes and revolutionize family planning, the quest for a safe and effective male pill is more crucial than ever.
