Finally, after years of asking for it, men might finally be able to have access to their own birth control as soon as May next year.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been working on an injectable birth control for men, and it’s wrapped up all the clinical trials it feels it needs to do. They’ve sent it off to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for approval, and if they give it the thumbs up then it could hit shelves in about 6 months.
One of the scientists working on the trials, Dr RS Sharma, has said that:
“The product is ready, with only regulatory approvals pending with the Drugs Controller. The trials are over, including extended, phase 3 clinical trials for which 303 candidates were recruited with 97.3% success rate and no reported side-effects. The product can safely be called the world’s first male contraceptive,”
It works by injecting the birth control into little tubes that take sperm from the testicle to the ejaculatory ducts, and blocking it so that sperm can’t get out. It’s the same tube that gets snipped during a vasectomy, and blocking it with birth control will last for about 13 years.
Yeah, basically it’s a needle in the balls. Doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, but neither is a vasectomy. Or childbirth.
Male birth control is something that’s really needed in the world, and at the moment, outside of condoms, men have exactly one birth control option: vasectomies. Everyone should have the right to be able to take charge of their reproductive health, and to do so safely.
I must admit though, if men get a birth control option without side effects, I’d love for us to kick the side effects in women’s birth control too. In the name of equality, no headaches or weird cramps for anyone, please and thankyou.