Shared Responsibility

At a medical conference in Boston this summer, researchers described clinical trials for an innovative male birth control method.  For most women, the knee-jerk reaction is “Would you trust a man to use birth control?”   We think that just about says it all.

However, we looked into the history of birth control and found a treasure trove.  In spite of religious, government, cultural or societal efforts, people have sought methods to prevent pregnancy for thousands of years.

Here are a few interesting factoids:

3000 BCE The ancient Egyptians developed condoms made from animal bladders. 

1850 BCE The Egyptians developed spermicides from “crocodile dung and fermented dough.” 

1855 The first rubber condom is developed.

1907 The United States government establishes the right to sterilize “unwilling and unwitting” people. By 1929, thirty states have similar laws that list the “insane,” “feeble-minded,” “dependent,” and “diseased” as incapable of regulating their own reproductive abilities, thus using forced sterilizations. 

1960 The first oral contraceptive “The Pill” announced.

1973 Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that protects abortion.     

2022 The Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

Special thanks to Carrie N. Baker and Kirsten Thompson 

A Brief History of Birth Control

Here we are today discussing the possibility of male birth control.  Why hasn’t this been supported and encouraged earlier?  Partly because of sexism, partly because the pharmaceutical industry isn’t willing to spend research dollars on something if men are not going to use it and largely because the message is and has always been that it is a woman’s responsibility.  After all, she is the one who suffers the consequences. 

 The possibility that contraception could be a shared responsibility is exciting and gives us hope that by leveling the playing field in this arena, we can finally find parity. 

One of the most transformative discoveries of our generation was the birth control pill. Think what that did for women.  It gave women control and the freedom to make decisions about when and how many children to have.  It changed the playing field in the work force, introduced dual working parents, and advanced opportunities for women to become lawyers, doctors and corporate executives.

What if men had controlled 90% of the decisions on reproductive rights in the 60’s

Our instincts tell us that we are fortunate that women had the pill and not men back then. Think how many more unwanted or unplanned pregnancies there might have been.

The bottom line is that when women are in charge of birth control, they control the decision to have or not have a child.  This is especially true in third world countries now more than ever.

Is male birth control a good or a troubling breakthrough for women? Perhaps male birth control as shared responsibility will work when a man and a woman are in a relationship and together decide on pregnancy.  However, since as far back as history is recorded, women bear the burden of the choice and men can stay or walk away. What do you think?

Ciao

Lucy and Claudia