(Image source: IB Times)

BY LEXA DECKERT

ANCHOR ALLIE SPILLYARDS

You're watching multisource video news analysis from Newsy.

Birth control may soon become more of an equal opportunity -- WPIX reports...


“Other news making headlines -- got a lot of men scratching their heads -- a male contraceptive?”
“Yes, it’s something that women have been hoping for forever. Birth control may not be just for women anymore. Scientists are now looking into a contraceptive in the form of a pill." 


There are now several types of birth control in the works.
The pill is the most similar to what women take now. International Business Times explains...


“A male participant’s sperm count was lowered to a level at which he would not be able to produce a child, and when he was not using the new contraceptive method, he was able to father a child. The new pill, chemically, is made up of testosterone and progestin -- hormones that stop the production of sperm." 

With so many scientists working on the answer, it is only a matter of time -- but a reporter for WNWO notes there are some concerns.


“Despite positive findings, like a 95 percent success rate, the pill not only stops working with alcohol--it can also make you sick to combine the two. Long term side effects also point to impotence and infertility." 


Despite some kinks -- First Things points out it may be less controversial than female birth control -- even though some people will never accept some forms of contraception.

“... I think a male contraceptive would promote greater societal comity since fewer pharmacists would presumably object to dispensing the male contraception, than female forms such as the ‘morning after pill,’ since by doing so they would not possibly be complicit in the taking of a nascent human life ...”


With the sudden hurry to perfect male birth control -- one blogger for Baby Center is puzzled over the wait...


“I’m starting to gather that the reason progress on male contraceptives has been slow [scratch that] glacial, is, namely, lack of confidence that men will actually use them." 


But numbers reported by Medical News Today show interest from not just women -- but men as well.


“... 13% to 80% of men (depending on the country and study) express interest in using a new male method. ...These men would like to relieve their partners of some of the contraceptive burden in their relationship or would simply like a more reliable backup to condoms." 


In October the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is funding a conference where new male contraceptive methods will be presented.


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