a younger relative posted to me this question,,,which I have no reasonable answer to

If I am only capable of conceiving three or four days a month, and the male is capable of fertlization EVERY DAY,,, why am I the one responsible for taking contraception? why havent males created and been responsible for 'taking' contraception?

This IS a good question.

i took birth control pills for years - no more of that for me, too many side effects. same would be the case if pills were made for males.

sticking with the 'no glove, no love' rule!

Great question I wanna know.

Which men here would take birth control if it were made available?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3543478/ns/health-sexual_health/t/male-birth-control-pill-soon-reality/#.T4skdtUnJ8w

Male birth control pill soon a reality

Forty-year-old Scott Hardin says he’s glad that men may soon have a new choice when it comes to birth control. But, he adds, he would not even consider taking a male hormonal contraceptive. Hardin is like many men who are pleased to hear they may have a new option but are wary of taking any type of hormones.

“I would rather rely on a solution that doesn’t involving medicating myself and the problems women have had with hormone therapy doesn’t make me anxious to want to sign on to taking a hormone-type therapy,” says Hardin, who is single and a college administrator.

For the first time, a safe, effective and reversible hormonal male contraceptive appears to be within reach. Several formulations are expected to become commercially available within the near future. Men may soon have the options of a daily pill to be taken orally, a patch or gel to be applied to the skin, an injection given every three months or an implant placed under the skin every 12 months, according to Seattle researchers.

“It largely depends on how funding continues. The technology is there. We know how it would work,” says Dr. Andrea Coviello, who is helping to test several male contraceptives at the Population Center for Research in Reproduction at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Coviello and her colleagues have found that a male contraceptive that releases testosterone over three months is potentially a safe and practical method of contraception. The Seattle researchers have been testing a sustained-released, testosterone micro-capsule, which consists of a thick liquid administered by injection under the skin.

“I never had any real noticeable side effects. I didn’t notice any mood changes. I may have put on a little weight,” says Larry Setlow, a 39-year-old computer programmer with a small software company in Seattle. He has taken part in three male hormonal contraceptive clinical trials at the University of Washington and has received both pills and injections.

“They all worked really well and I was able to look at my lab results and see my sperm count drop to zero,” says Setlow.

Finally, it is the man's turn
Women have had the option of a safe, effective and reversible form of contraception since the development of the female oral contraceptive pill in the 1960s.

Female contraceptives use hormones, estrogens and progestins, to shut off the release of eggs to prevent pregnancy. Male hormonal contraceptives work pretty much the same way: hormones, such as testosterone and progestins, are used to turn off sperm production.

“It seemed like I was getting headaches and then there were times when I woke up sweating at night and I had to change my shirt. Other than that, I didn’t have any side effects,” says 45-year-old Quentin Brown, who lives in Los Angeles and has been a volunteer in a study of MHCs at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, Calif.

Brown has been taking hormonal contraceptives for more than a year. He reports no problems with weight gain or acne, two side effects that occurred in earlier versions of MHCs tested in the 1990s.

Brown, who is married and has three children, hopes his kids will one day be able to benefit from the new technology. His would like his son, who is now 17, to one day have the option of taking a male birth control pill. Brown believes many men will see “their pill” as a good idea and will want to use it.

“It is time for men to have some control. I think it would empower men and deter some women out there from their nefarious plans,” says Brown. “Some women are out there to use men to get pregnant. This could deter women from doing this. An athlete or a singer is someone who could be a target and they could put a stop to that.”

Studies conducted by the World Health Organization show that men from many countries around the world would welcome MHCs. The WHO has tested MHCs in hundreds of volunteers in various countries around the world and have not found it difficult to recruit volunteers for their studies. Researchers say many men are very willing to become involved in the studies and are anxious to see a male birth control pill on the market.

A range of choices
Over the past 5 years, researchers around the world have had a great deal of success with male contraceptive pills, patches, implants and creams that deliver various amounts of hormones. It is now believed that an MHC in the form of a daily pill could be available on the market within 5 to 7 years and implants could arrive even sooner.

“An injectible or an implant (similar to Norplant for women) will be the first to be approved. The big studies are now under way,” says Dr. Christina Wang, who is heading up the clinical trials of MHCs at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

She and her colleagues have found that a combination of progestin and androgen implants are safe, effective, inexpensive and entirely reversible.

The California researchers have tested several different products in hundreds of men and are also collaborating with investigators in China. A Chinese clinical trial is now under way at 10 different sites across China and includes 1,000 men. The Phase III trial involves a single injection given once every month. Wang hopes to start a similar trial in the United States within the next 2 years.

We are trying to find the best combination with the least amount of side effects and then the least amount of medication that may be required to get the maximum effects,” says Wang.

Wang adds that in some countries, a low-cost, reversible and long-acting form of an MHC could become commercially available within the next 3 years. However, she says it will probably be at least 5 years before one is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Interestingly, Wang says there is now greater interest in this technology than there ever was in the past and there is now more funding available worldwide than ever before.

But will men take it? Some say yes, some say only if their partners make them, and other say they would never even consider it.

My answer:

Women are responsible because it's their bodies. Who is fertile when doesn't matter to me....the woman is the one that gets pregnant, so she has a bigger responsibility IMO.

If men don't want to worry about a woman having their child, then they are responsible, as well

Basically, we are responsible for our own bodies. It takes 2 to tango, so if you don't want to risk getting pregnant then protect yourself or don't dance

I mean, if I decide to have sex and I don't want to get pregnant or STDs, then I should be responsible for my decision. Both are equal in deciding to have sex so both are equal to be responsible

JMO

I'm guessing it stems from a basic root biological (animal) fact -- a man can get many women pregnant at one time, but a woman can only be pregnant by one man at a time (barring some sort of weird alien abduction scenario). The default setting is pro-reproduction, so the male would want to keep his options open.

This, then leading into a male-dominated culture for centuries....babies are ultimately the mom's responsibility, anyway, once they're born (from that archaic perspective), so, once technology reaches the point where birth control is feasible, let's leave that to the women, too. I'm not saying this is the right thing to do, just that this is how a male-dominant culture might justify it.

I can relate to this answer. I actually agree but traditionally it seems that people have expected the female to protect herself from pregnancy through contraceptive medication

and much less expectation has been placed upon the male to prevent impregnating someone,,,

I agree about tradition. But you can't force someone to use birth control. You can only control yourself. If the guy doesn't want to use it, then don't have sex with him or you (generally speaking) protect yourself.

Now if we want to weigh it out:

Men are capable of fertlization EVERY DAY
Women are the ones that get pregnant and carries the child
Both decide to have sex

so it's even IMO

Any way...that would be my argument if I was asked that question

I did my part......

snip, snip......

years ago!!!!!!

now, if only more men who dont care to have children would follow suit,,,lol

So, if a woman should be solely responsible for birth control, do you also believe she should be the one responsible for deciding what to do with the baby? Whether she keeps it, puts it up for adoption, or gets an abortion?

ahhhhh,,getting deep,, getting deep,....

We knew we were done having kids.....so the decision was more to get her free from the pill and its side effects and risks.
Twas a....no brainer!!!!!

technically she does have that choice cause it's her body and she can do want she wants no matter if anyone likes it or not.Same goes for birth control

for now,,,,

hasnt always been, might not always be,,,,

If that were really the case, there wouldn't be any guys having a problem when a woman does one of those things without his approval. And if it were really just her choice, why are there people out there who want abortion banned?

Both are equally responsible in my opinion as was stated above. If I go into a sexual relationship with a fear of my partner becoming pregnant, then it is my responsibility to do what I can to insure it doesn't happen just as much as it is hers.

Leaving it up to your partner to decide or trusting them to be responsible adults is just plain foolish in my opinion. I take responsibility for my own actions.

I would tell anyone who asked me that as well.

1) You are having sex too, so you are equally responsible.
2) It's you who will be pregnant, not the guy.
3) Not to nit pick, but it's about a seven day window during which you can get pregnant.

Because a hard penis just don't care.....


Next question.......