The vast majority of people would like to see a male contraceptive pill become available in the German healthcare system, a recent survey by YouGov has revealed. If it comes, how would the pill work?

Majority in Germany want a male birth control pill

Responding to a recent YouGov representative survey, 70 percent of people in Germany said that they would “definitely” or “likely” endorse a male contraceptive pill.

Of the 2.032 people surveyed, 76 percent of women said that they would like the see a male contraceptive pill introduced and 63 percent of men said the same. However, only 37 percent of men said that they would take the pill if it were available, while 21 percent of male respondents said that they would not take the pill.

There we also divides when it came to who respondents felt took on the responsibility of contraception in general. 52 percent of women answered that they felt like the burden of responsibility was unfairly placed on them to make sure that they didn’t get pregnant, and only one in five men who responded agreed with this sentiment.

How would a male contraceptive pill work?

Since the pill was first widely used in the 1960s it has oft been cited as a catalyst for the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, but has not come without criticism. Using the progesterone hormone to disrupt the menstrual cycle, the pill can reduce sex drive, has been linked to increased risk of breast cancer and can cause temporary mood swings.

So would the introduction of a male contraceptive pill mean that anyone taking it would be subject to the same list of negative side effects? Not necessarily. In 2023, scientists in the US announced that they may have successfully developed a non-hormonal, male birth control pill. The pill works by temporarily stopping sperm from moving itself forward, by deactivating an enzyme that they need to propel. 

According to the US research, anyone who took the pill would only have to ingest it an hour before having sex to prevent pregnancy, but like the existing pill, doctors have warned that it would not protect against STIs. 

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