I know there are several trials being run right now to develop male contraceptive drugs, but historically, all such methods have been developed to act on the female body. IUD’s, skin implants, oral hormones, etc.
Is it purely because of biological / medical reasons, or are there other reasons people decided to only research female options?
I know men can get a vasectomy, but I am specifically speaking about reversible options of contraception.
In: Biology
We only have one form of drug based birth control for women. We just have different ways of administering those drugs. The release of eggs in females are controlled by hormones on a monthly basis and the drug are just exploiting this which is a fairly easy way to prevent pregnencies. However male ejaculation is not controlled in the same way. So it is not as easy to find a drug that can tap into this control mechanism.
However the most used birth control method is developed for men, the condom. You do also have similar devices for women but they are not as widely used as it is easier to put the protection on the outside of something then to line the inside of something. The other mechanical birth control methods for women works by preventing a fertilized egg from developing further, and needs to be placed where this would happen.
I am not saying that there is no gender bias within this field. If we for example look at castrations, a procedure which is very similar both in men and women, we can clearly see that there is a gender bias in the number of procedures being conducted on each. However the fact that it is easier to stop women from getting pregnent then stopping men from getting them pregnent is still a major factor in this.
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