A growing range of pills, patches and implants became available to women. And yet, a stretchy sheath that covers the penis remains the only medically approved form of contraception for men, short of vasectomy.
But now, researchers are looking into both hormonal and non-hormonal contraceptives for sperm bearers. The hope is that couples will begin to treat contraception more as a shared responsibility.
“We would like to create a menu of options for men similar to what women have available to them,” says Stephanie Page, a researcher and endocrinologist at the University of Washington.
Page’s lab is conducting a clinical trial along with researchers at 15 other sites across the globe, testing out a topical gel that a man applies to his shoulders every day. The gel contains synthetic hormones — a combination of testosterone and progestin — that signal the brain to lower testosterone levels in the body. And since testosterone is necessary for sperm to reach maturation, the testes then produce fewer and fewer sperm.
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Page estimates it will be another seven to 10 years before any of these new methods can be sold. So why have women had to shoulder so much of the responsibility for contraception for so long?
“Women bear the life-threatening burden of pregnancy,” Page says. “And so the initial energy went into ensuring that women had control of their own reproduction.”
