Male Contraceptive = The Answer

Mens contraceptives are the solution and it is a life changing one. It will finally let a woman feel like a woman.

Birth control has historically been a solution to the prevention of pregnancy for many years, but it’s various side effects and unintended complications have caused women harm. Not only that, birth control early on had largely been restrictive and unavailable. Despite that, women were shouldered as the primary role to the burden of using birth control. However, the men in this world should not only blame the women for pregnancy. A woman should not be the only ones that suffer from using contraceptives. There are minor and major side effects of using birth control which can sometimes be fatal. This suggests a need to develop other options in this field. The male contraceptive is an answer and option that should be explored. It opens up a whole new world for people as it can be “plan C.”
In 1960, Enovid was the first oral contraceptive approved by the FDA. It was available for purchase for women but because it cost $10 a month in 1960 it was too expensive for the average women, where $10 in 1960 is equivalent to $80 in U.S. dollars today. $80 for a month supply of birth control was simply unaffordable to the majority of American households. It was not too long after that the government wanted to restrict the birth control. In 1965, as the supreme court ruled that only married woman could use the contraceptive pill and 2.3 million unmarried women were denied. Still, women were largely expected to be the one taking and controlling it despite the restriction of the courts.
Now in the modern era, men are slowly become more expected to be responsible for pregnancy and birth control. Birth control has given problems to women since the beginning. Women can endure vaginal discharge, missed periods, headaches, mood changes, weight gain and intermenstrual spotting when they take the pill. Are all these too much for one person to handle? Rochelle Russell, a mother from Toledo, Ohio, lost her daughter Breanna Russell because of birth control side effects. Rochelle did not know that her daughter was slowly dying as she would receive an injection every three months for birth control. Breanna was 14 when she first started to receive the injections and continued until she died at 19. Rochelle said that her daughter died from “severe cranial pressure and brain bleeds,” something she says was caused by “Depo Provera, a shot given every three months for birth control.” The side effects of the birth control called Depo Provera could be blood clots, seizures, and strokes. These are very harsh side effects that women can endure just to avoid pregnancy and should not be something that is expected of every woman if they are vulnerable to it.
Men are seemingly afraid of taking a contraceptive. Some males have even said that they would get a vasectomy over taking contraceptives. Males view the contraceptives as “feminine” because it has historically been the women taking them since the 1960s. They feel that a male contraceptive is not needed because the ones that women take work. However, the dismissal of this is not perfect. A male contraceptive is only an option and that would further diversify the range of contraceptives for humans to take. Having it would expand and tailor to an individual’s specific needs, avoiding some dangers and risks of complications.
The male contraceptive would be life changing for women in that the males would take some of the burdens off them. In addition, two people taking contraceptives is better than one in regards to preventing unintended pregnancies. The male contraceptive is simply an injection in the testicle. This is actually a large benefit over typical female birth control as it does not require remembering to take a pill at a certain time every day. For men, it’s just a shot and then it’s done. It is not like taking a pill or remembering to put on a patch.
Women would benefit very much from male contraceptives because it will lower birth rates and also help decline the numbers in abortion. The birth control pill was invented to prevent abortion and it will work increasingly on both sides. Oxford academic, during a study for male contraceptives, found that “In Edinburgh, 80 men refused to complete the questionnaire, 34 refused in Hong Kong and 76 men in Cape Town, mainly due to lack of time. There were 45 refusals in Shanghai mainly because these men objected to the idea of a questionnaire about contraception.” There was a significant number of refusals, probably due to beliefs. Men are refusing to take part in anything that relates to a male contraceptive and demonstrates a lack of understanding and empathy. They do not understand the benefits of a male contraceptive. Not only will it reduce the chances of pregnancy, but also save women from harsh side effects. The study did demonstrate that some men would be receptive to a male contraceptive, but the study also found that some areas had lower beliefs in condom efficacy.
Overall, some societies in the world do not have the adequate sexual education based on these results. If men had the proper education on male contraceptives, then they would not refuse to participate in studies and also be more receptive to the idea of it as well. Knowing about contraceptives would lead to less unintended pregnancies and benefit women as men would now share some of the burdens a contraceptive has done to them. It would also be a viable option because a woman that cannot take birth control will not have to worry as the male would have access to a contraceptive. Having the male birth control would not be a requirement, but rather as another option to diversify and create a more inclusive set of birth control options that can suit the specific needs of a couple.