Three state-of-the-art birth control methods for women have annual pregnancy rates below 1 in 500, and the user doesn’t have to think about them for years at a time. By contrast, the best option available to men (short of sterilization) has an annual pregnancy rate of about 1 in 6 and has to be rolled onto an erect penis during each sexual encounter. A new generation of researchers would like to change that — but change takes money.
Why the Neglect?
During the last 70 years, billions of dollars have gone into research on female contraception. While pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to invest in innovation, public health dollars and private philanthropists have fundedresearch at university medical schools or nonprofits like the Population Council to fill the gap. As a consequence, family planning options and outcomes have improved, sometimes dramatically. Pills contain less hormones, IUDs now protect against disorders like endometriosis and several methods offer lighter, less frequent periods or other bonus health benefits.
But during the same time, research into male-controlled methods received paltry attention, largely because funders believed men weren’t interested. That may have been true 70 years ago. But many men today say they are perfectly willing to share the responsibility of family planning and in fact want the means to manage their own fertility.