Birth Control: If It Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It
I asked my friends earlier today, “Hey would you guys take male birth control if-” and they cut me off. Without even giving me a second to finish my sentence about the procedure and repercussions, those fools cut me off. “No dawg birth control is for women.” Simply put, I respected his decision but still thought that isn’t it a bit selfish? I mean if women take birth control and endure the side effects of weight gain, mood swings, cramps, and nausea shouldn’t us men try to take that burden off our women? In the article “Efficacy and Safety of an Injectable Combination Hormonal Contraceptive for Men,” we are introduced to the suppression of spermatogenesis and contraception through im injections of progestogen and testosterone.
I don’t see what’s the big deal, who says women strictly have to take birth control and not men? Is it a matter of masculinity and gender roles is what I had asked my friends and to my surprise I was right. The counterargument is that birth control for men just dos not make sense. Birth control for women stabilizes hormone levels to prevent ovulation. For men it merely suppresses sperm which was proven effective but not as accurate preventing the release of an egg. If you think about it in the sense that with the pill for women you won’t have any female gametes to fertilize. It is a lot more relieving compared to knowing that even though your levels of sperm are being suppressed, that the female partner is still fertile. The male injection birth control was proven to cause mood disorder. Being a supporter of male birth control, this was a major drawback. Most men with myself included, already suffer from anger issues and a side effect like this would not only be terrible but dangerous.
Bringing a child into the world shouldn’t be an easy decision. We have children in orphanages and the street who barely have food to eat because their families thought too late that they do not want them. Women should have the full right to choose when they feel mentally and physically when they should have a child. However, sometimes matter of trust is brought into the equation. My roommate Xavier, recently became a father to a beautiful little girl. Of course it was a big stepping stone for my roommate as he explains, but it as it was unplanned and unwanted. Xavier’s girlfriend at the time told him she was on the pill but months after their break up she came forth and confessed her pregnancy. Xavier, 19 at the time faced much scrutiny from his family but knew he would have to step up to the plate and now bring a daughter into the world. With male birth control, as men, we will not have to ever worry about unwanted pregnancies again.
In the video clip above we see a women’s point of view on men taking birth control and to no surprise they were all for it. Except the issue of mood swings and trust were thrown back into the equation. Can women really trust men to take their shot every 8 weeks to suppress their sperm. Also I do not know one friend who would want to get acne this late in life and depression either. Yet still, for a piece of mind I think taking male birth control is still a viable option in contraception.
Male birth control is definitely a breakthrough for unplanned or unwanted pregnancies. Condoms are cheap and reliable but don’t give you that same experience and vasectomies can be quiet expensive ranging to 700 dollars. So should men start taking birth control? Sure why not, but then again the suppression of sperm has negative side effects that can be quiet serious like sperm blockage. The male birth control injection is still reversible but why take it when women who for their own benefit take the pill. Women need to take birth control for their own reassurance that they won’t end up with a pregnancy they’re not ready for or do not want. You can’t rely on men to play their part because at the end of the day if there is no egg there will be no conception. I myself strongly support the idea of male birth control but would choose not to if my female partner was on the pill. Condoms and pulling out is a lot more cheaper than the alternatives. Plus some of us are better off without the mood swings and late age acne since holding a relationship is hard as is.
