Do Women Really Want a Male Birth Control Pill?
By
Glenn Sacks
© 2005
Women have long lamented the unequal burden they
shoulder in the area of contraception. Today researchers are
reportedly close to perfecting a male contraceptive that is free of
side effects, easy to take, and reversible. But do women really want
a male birth control pill?
Power is the reward which comes with responsibility.
For example, during the Cold War Americans complained about the
money and manpower spent protecting a reputedly ungrateful world
from communism. Yet these sacrifices also helped give the United
States great geopolitical power, with its attendant perks and
privileges.
Similarly, while women legitimately complain that
biology has condemned them to bear the burden of contraception, this
burden also gives women control over one of the most important parts
of any human being’s life--reproduction. The male birth control pill
will shift much of that control from women to men. Is the following
conversation far away?
Woman #1: “My [husband, boyfriend, significant other]
is selfish. He's on the pill and won’t get off. I’ve asked him to
stop taking it but he always says he’s not ready. He just won’t grow
up. I don’t know what to do.”
Woman #2: “That’s what the pill has given men—a right
to be perpetual adolescents. It’s given them veto power over women
who want to have children.”
Despite the stigma that will develop against men who
take the pill, the pill will be a success. While most women are
responsible and want to have children with a willing, committed
partner, studies show that lack of reproductive control can be a
major problem for men today. For example, the National Scruples and
Lies Survey 2004 polled 5,000 women in the United Kingdom for That’s
Life! magazine. According to that survey, 42% of women claim they
would lie about contraception in order to get pregnant, regardless
of the wishes of their partners.
Jo Checkley, the editor of That’s Life!, is correct
when she says “to deliberately get pregnant when your partner
doesn’t want a baby is playing Russian roulette with other people’s
lives."
According to research conducted by Joyce Abma of the
National Center for Health Statistics and Linda Piccinino of Cornell
University, over a million American births each year result from
pregnancies which men did not intend.
The male pill will fill a genuine economic need. Child
support levels are rising, generally comprising 15-25% of take-home
pay for one child, in addition to add-ons for child care, health
care, and other costs. There is also a trend towards extending child
support obligations beyond the age of 18, and child support
enforcement is increasingly wide-ranging and effective.
Moreover, most men realize that it’s difficult to
remain a part of their children’s lives once the relationship with
the children’s mother has broken down, particularly if the children
were born outside of marriage. The pill will help ensure that men
only have children in the context that’s best for men--a stable
marriage.
The advent of the female birth control pill greatly
aided women’s struggle for autonomy and fulfillment. The male birth
control pill will also create great changes, but these changes will
not be to some women’s liking. Be careful what you ask for—you might
get it.
Glenn Sacks is a men's and fathers' issues columnist
and a nationally-syndicated radio talk show host. His columns have
appeared in dozens of America's largest newspapers.
Glenn can be reached via his website at
http://www.GlennSacks.com or
via email at
Glenn@GlennSacks.com.
Copyright 2005 Glenn
Sacks, all rights reserved
