6:37 AM
Anonymous
Just who should take responsibility for birth control is a subject that divides many couples.
There are only two forms of male contraception — condoms and vasectomies, and they have disadvantages.
Though condoms have a 98 per cent success rate with perfect use, in reality and with human error, they prevent pregnancy only in 85 per cent of cases — an unacceptable risk for many couples.
Vasectomies are designed to be a permanent form of contraception (though a reversal is possible) and involve otherwise healthy men going under the knife.
Female contraceptives, on the other hand, such as the Pill or implants are effective and reversible, though they can cause nasty side-effects such as weight gain, depression and blood clots.
So why are there not more options for men?
The simple answer is biology, says Professor Peter Schlegel, head of urology at New York’s Cornell University and a top authority on male contraception.
‘It is a lot easier to control one egg than the 100 million sperm a man produces every day.
'The potential for error is enormous and all it takes is for one sperm to get away for the treatment to fail. It is practically much more difficult.’
However, with 50,000 men having a vasectomy every year in Britain, there is clearly a market for male family planning and scientists around the world, determined to push back scientific frontiers, are trying to find new options.
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