It's far too impotent

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 7:21 AM on March 1, 2006.

The technology is willing but the flesh is weak. At least that's what the developer of the male birth-control pill believes. Via Ann:

"It would be possible to make a male pill today. We know how hormones work and we could use the same principles that are used to make the female pill," Carl Djerassi, 82, told weekly news magazine Sabado.

"The problem is that men are afraid to lose their virility. Even if taking a pill carries only a remote chance of impotence, they won't take the chance," he added.

I don't actually buy that this is the primary obstacle. I mean sure, this is very real phenomenon but pair it with viagra and you get an even more lucrative venture... I'm much more inclined to buy this...

"What does a hormonal contraceptive [like the Pill] represent to a pharmaceutical company?" Weiss asks. "Recurrent sales. It's like women's birth control. They sell it over and over and over again. They want something they can make an ongoing profit from. Business is business."

RISUG [a male contraceptive injection] renders a man infertile for six to 15 years; on the Indian market, it'll cost about $500 for the injection. In contrast, the average American woman spends between $3,000 and $4,000 every 10 years for birth control pills.

(Feministing)

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Evan Derkacz is a New York-based writer and contributor to AlterNet.