Men: Could you take a contraceptive pill?

The trials of remembering to take it; the fear of strange side-effects; the embarrassment of it falling out of your bag in front of the in-laws. Men everywhere could soon be experiencing the rigours of the contraceptive pill. Because in the future it could be men, not just women, ticking off the days on the back of their tablet pack and rushing to get a new prescription.

The benefits are easy to see. No more fretting about drunken lapses in concentration or panicked chats that a child you can’t afford is on the way. When asked if they have kids, men will no longer be able to quip, ‘None that I know about.’ Because, according to new clinical studies in the US, men will soon have control over when they produce sperm.

Scientists at the Dana-Farber Institute in Boston have developed a drug that targets a protein critical for sperm creation. They have proven during tests on mice that the drug not only temporarily stops the production of sperm, but does so without affecting libido. Men can still ejaculate and enjoy sex as normal. Crucially, when one of the mice came off the drug, its sperm levels returned to normal. Researcher Dr James Bradner speculates: ‘These findings suggest a reversible, oral male contraceptive may be possible.’ He even joked: ‘Ever since my wife gave birth to twins a year ago I have been taking a gram a day.’

So confident are British experts that their US counterparts will soon create an oral male contraceptive that they are talking of when, not if, it will hit the shelves. Dr Allan Pacey, a senior lecturer in andrology (male reproductive health) at the University of Sheffield, says: ‘The only question is whether or not it will be a protein-centred one, or a hormonally based one. There are a number of alternatives being developed that manipulate the male hormone testosterone through the use of injections or implants, which don’t give men mood swings in the same way that hormonally based female contraceptives do. Whichever version comes first, this is very exciting.’

However, other experts, including Dr Jackson Kirkman-Brown, director of the Centre for Human Reproductive Science at the University of Birmingham, fear that the potential new pill could never be watertight. ‘People want an absolute when they are talking contraception. With progesterone — the female contraceptive — the drug works by preventing any sperm reaching the egg. This new drug can’t promise that, it merely pushes down the production and quality of sperm. As long as you can still produce even one good sperm, there is always a chance that you can get someone pregnant.’

The only side-effect found thus far — and this could be a deal-breaker for many — is that the drug temporarily shrank the size of testes in mice during tests. But according to the small sample of men I spoke to, this could be overlooked if the drug was an effective contraceptive. James Warne, 32, says: ‘If it worked and it was safe, I wouldn’t mind taking oral contraception even if my testicles were smaller for a bit. I watched my girlfriend have her implant removed from her arm and it looked really painful. If men get the opportunity to step up then they should.’

Obviously such contraception would not guard against STIs and would typically appeal only to men in long-term relationships. Some claim they would be prepared to try it so long as there were guarantees it was bombproof. ‘It sounds shameful, but I would be less concerned about the health effects so long as it worked,’ says Will Turner, 34. ‘I know condoms can break and other contraceptives aren’t 100 per cent certain either, but the primary purpose is that it doesn’t get somebody pregnant. If it couldn’t provide at least a 99 per cent guarantee, then I’d feel compelled to wear a condom anyway, which, obviously, would ruin the whole point of taking it.’

As well as proving its effectiveness, any oral male contraceptive will have to pass the girlfriend test. Would women really trust their man to take a daily pill? The answer for some is emphatically no, says Katherine Wile, 28, who lives with her boyfriend of three years. ‘He forgets his keys, he forgets our anniversary, he forgets to book flights. There is no way he would remember to take a daily pill over a long period of time, even if it meant avoiding an unplanned pregnancy.’

Even the professionals believe such an issue might cause problems in relationships. Dr Kirkman-Brown says women in focus groups he researched wanted irrefutable, physical proof to show their man had taken it. ‘Ideas included turning his urine blue, or an implant that could be felt under the skin. I don’t blame them; in the same study some men admitted they would be prepared to lie that they were on the pill so that they could enjoy unprotected intercourse.’ ES