By Jennifer Abbasi Posted 03.28.2012 at 10:13 am 21 Comments

Contraceptive Daniel Schumpert

John Amory, a doctor at the University of Washington, has been developing a male contraceptive for 15 years. Turns out, it's harder than it sounds. We spoke with him to find out why.

PopSci: Why is it taking so long to produce a birth-control pill for men?

John Amory: Women make one egg a month, but men make 1,000 sperm every second of every day, from puberty until the day they die. Turning that off is difficult.

PS: How does hormone contraception work?

JA: If you give a man enough testosterone, the brain will shut down the secretion of gonadotropins, which are the hormones that signal the testes to make sperm. This is why most bodybuilders are infertile, by the way. But it doesn’t work in all men.

PS: How many men does testosterone work for?

JA: We have never been able to get more than 95 percent effectiveness. It’s possible to identify who testosterone won’t work for, but it involves getting a lot of sperm counts. It would be much nicer if you could just say, “Take this and it will work.” Women don’t have to undergo ovulation detections and testing to see if the Pill is going to work for them.

PS: The World Health Organization funded a study across eight countries for hormone-based contraception, but last year, it shut down the study early. What happened?

JA: There were side effects, including severe depression. Some men don’t take hormonal shifts very well.

PS: What other approaches might work?

JA: Sperm have a pretty daunting mission. There’s a lot that can go wrong. Researchers have injected monkeys with eppin, a protein that coats sperm so they can’t swim. There’s also the process by which sperm make energy. If you can block that, you’d get tired sperm. Also, the testes need vitamin A to produce sperm, and there’s an enzyme that converts vitamin A to its active metabolite, retinoic acid. No retinoic acid, no sperm. I’m developing drug inhibitors that stop retinoic-acid production in the testes. I’m hopeful that we’ll have something approved in five years.

PS: Do you expect much demand for the male pill?

JA: Yes. Men are interested in having sex. Most of the time they’re not as interested in fathering a pregnancy.

21 Comments

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JediMindset
03/28/12 at 12:13 pm

the "quick pull" technique is a good way to prevent pregnancy. but the only downside is that they have to be really fast. once you master this technique you will become a sensei of the technique. in turn you shall no longer get any women pregnant.

JK by the way. practice safe sex ALL the time. wear a fresh condom everyTIME!

"religion is like a prison for the seekers of wisdom"

-Killah Priest

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Space
03/28/12 at 12:41 pm

Another way to go for safe sex, love the one your with and make a lifelong commitment! Being promiscuous leads to a chaotic life; who needs the headache! A wedding is just a short little dance to make public you are married. A marriage license is only a piece of paper. It's what we are inside and our heart commitments that truly bring meaning to life; be honest, be sincere, defend and stay true to the one you love!

..........................................
See life in all its beautiful colors, and
from different perspectives too!

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SgtB
03/28/12 at 2:19 pm

I enjoy sex as much as the next guy, but I have to really wonder how long someone can enjoy sex when they are completely infertile and it becomes as ordinary and as innocuous as brushing your teeth. Furthermore, while women the world over are willing to put themselves at risk of infertility, cancer, and weight gain for the supposed benefit of infertility through a pill, I doubt that many real men will be so willing. Sure, you'll get the douchers and the frat boys who just want to whore up the town, but they are not a majority of men. Well,... at least I hope they aren't. But, I could be entirely wrong. We do have mothers with fathers' consent murdering infants in the womb on a daily basis citing inconvenience as a defense for murder.

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Norrec
03/28/12 at 3:23 pm

JediMindset, please do not tell people that pulling out is an effective means of avoiding pregnancy. While it may reduce the chances, there is still a significant risk of pregnancy.

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JediMindset
03/28/12 at 3:32 pm

@Norrec,

did you eve read the whole comment? at the end i said, "JK by the way. practice safe sex ALL the time. wear a fresh condom everyTIME!" but you are right the quick pull is not 100 percent effective. there's still a chance of sperm getting in.

"religion is like a prison for the seekers of wisdom"

-Killah Priest

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True_wiley
03/28/12 at 4:12 pm

@SgtB I would disagree with you. Our society mindset is as long as something good is happening now, don't worry about bad things that happen later. I see this being very popular once enough propaganda has gotten around. Probably could have said the same thing 60 years ago about female bc.

And isn't sex still enjoyed even though it is fairly common these days with little risk of becoming pregnant? It already has become the "brushing your teeth" mundane/commonplace imo. I'm not sure how much more common you can make it, any who want sex, know how to get it, and don't care about moral ramifications are already out there doing it

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Robot
03/28/12 at 6:08 pm

Luckily, this particular product above reduces a man nutts or output and men in general frown to that concept. So I think this product will never sell. But should they come up with a better product in the future, I think it will become popular by men. And if the negative effects are not felt for years in the future, you are correct, men will grasp it too, the same as humans indulge in cigarettes, alcohol, over eating, and polluting world and an oblivious understanding of human effect on global warming.

The human concept is, if I do not feel bad now, well nothing bad will happen to me in the future. Oh, those bad things, that somebody else’s problem.

If you want to have consequences to have an effect, they have to be up front and personal and a current time frame. I am not sure you call it selfishness, but rather we are all to busy in life to contemplate the long term. Perhaps it is a flaw in the human design.

You can call 1-800-annunaki to make your complaint. Leave your name and number at the beep. I good listener is standing by. Responses are not guaranteed. Thank you, beep.

.............................
Science sees no further than what it can sense, i.e. facts.
Religion sees beyond the senses, i.e. faith.
Open your mind and see!

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bedazzledlover
03/29/12 at 8:50 am

Me being a female who takes birth control, knows that no amount of men will ever add up to the amount of women who are willing to take the risks to prevent pregnancy. The way i see it if you are willing to not step up to the plate and practice safe sex, then maybe you should reap the concequences of pregnancy. Majority of men will not be willing to take this, because why would you want to take a daily pill every day when a male can just slip on a thin piece of plastic to prevent pregnancy. Women are not so lucky to be able to do that. This is why i think that this male birth control pill will not be very realistic.

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nukejohn
03/29/12 at 2:44 pm

Are those pills on the top shelf to help our memory in order to remember to take the contraceptive pills?

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ColinSci
03/29/12 at 3:35 pm

They can experiment all they want, but the long term hazards are yet to be known. For as simple as it appears, what happens if the sperm develop an "immunity" to the imposed chemical process, like STDs are today? All it takes is one to make it all the way. 1,000 per Second every Day...... Life will happen, no matter what our technology says.

Infertile man and infertile woman, by choice, to experience sex at all costs....doesn't sound good. Condoms or no condoms, sponges, pills, spermicides, douches...all for "risk-free" sex.

We are fools.

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Tory II
03/29/12 at 5:09 pm

The cost of the pills will be a strong factor on who or how many will use daily birth pills. And men have a strong habit of passing responsibility on to women. I'm 58...the thought of fathering a kid and not knowing, always makes me shudder in fear.

I doubt a bc pill for men will have much influence on population size (the number one problem on the planet). Excessive population causes all kinds of major problems - excessive amounts of labor (too many workers) causes low wages and causes all kinds of other related SERIOUS economic problems. Mexico is a good example.

A better approach could be a vaccine that make us temporarily sterile for a significant period of time. I would be willing to pay for that.

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dontbother
03/29/12 at 10:19 pm

Yes but will OBAMA! force the insurance companies to supply it free to all men?

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Robot
03/30/12 at 8:26 am

But I do not want to take birth control. I do not want to eat green eggs and ham. I do not want to be force to buy health insurance. I am a free man. Least I used to be.

.............................
Science sees no further than what it can sense, i.e. facts.
Religion sees beyond the senses, i.e. faith.
Open your mind and see!

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bgdavison
03/30/12 at 3:14 pm

Plenty of guys out there, I am not one of them, willing to give a fake name and number to a one night stand. What would stop them from saying,"yeah, baby, I'm on the pill." to be able to have the sensation their looking for without the side effects?
Having a committed relationship at least gives a contingency plan to raise a kid. An added benefit is that it is the best way to prevent STDs.

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elchan
04/05/12 at 3:10 pm

Yes, men all over the world are looking for ways to make themselves infertile...NOT!

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steve_jarvis
04/09/12 at 10:25 pm

I think that guys, especially younger ones, will love the fact that they can do who ever and not have to worry about having to be a father. I on the other hand like being a father and would not like to have a pill to make me infertile. With morals slowly slipping away from society as it is I think that this could lead to a very liberal outcome with a society that has loose morals beyond belief. Think of how acceptable gay and lesbian weddings have become, it didnt used to be like that nor did abortion. It could be good and it could be bad we will just have to wait and see.

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jmach12985
04/11/12 at 12:58 pm

Men would like to have the option as do women to prevent pregnancy also I believe this being true well with the number of single fathers on the rise not saying they wished they never had there kids but I'm sure they have said to themselves what a low life I wished I would have had my first kid with someone who isn't worthless its this type of reaction that I believe has made the research more foregoing then in the past women spread there legs just like men do these days plus I'm sure celebrity's would pay a mint for this with all them gold diggers out there they need to protect there investments

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nickyd
01/06/13 at 1:06 am

Just got to this now ... and am amazed at peoples belief that men will not want a birth control pill ... or that it will only be used by those looking to sleep around.

as a 40-something year old, in a committed relationship, I love sex with my partner ... but we have 2 kids, and have chosen not to have more ... so we have 3 choices ...
1. condom
2. vasectomy
3. she takes the pill

yes, at the moment option 3 is the easy one, but doesn't it just stink of men "passing the buck"? ... and do I want to put my partner's health at risk?

Condom is the standard solution, but the sensations and feelings with that thin film of rubber are so much reduced ... it's infinitely more pleasurable without ... and I'm assured it does not feel the same for my partner either.

Vasectomy ... I keep coming back to that, and am 99% certain that is the route I will be taking in the coming months ... but it is rather final (a reversal operation is possible, but also very painful) my partner is younger than me, what if we change our mind in a few years?

what wouldn't I give for a pill? ... and not because I want to sleep around ...



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