Best Sources

George, L. (2005, August 30). Taking one for the team. Maclean’s, 118 (36), 36-37.
click here for online article

This article is from a Canadian magazine, and it talks about men warming up to the idea of male hormonal contraception. The author touches on the biological hurdles with developing such a treatment, and also possible (more like probable) negative side effects that are extremely discouraging. However, despite all that, she insists that men are willing and wanting to have another contraceptive option so they can have more control over reproduction. I'm definitely going to use this to support my argument that male hormonal contraception will be effective and accepted.

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Glasier, A. F., Anakwe, R., Everington, D., Martin, C. W., van der Spuy, Z., Cheng, L., et al. (2000). Would women trust their partners to use a male pill? Human Reproduction, 15 (3), 646-649.

I really liked this study because it looked at women's perspectives on the issue. Women in four cities (Edinburgh, UK; Hong Kong, China; Shanghai, China; and Cape Town, South Africa) were surveyed about how they feel about current birth control options, possible use of hormonal contraception by their male partners, as well as demographic information. The distribution of the survey to the four cities was to gain perspectives of women from different racial backgrounds and cultures. Overall, women were unsatisfied with current birth control options and felt that women were the ones being burdened. The majority also said that they would consider having their partners use male hormonal contraception, and therefore, that they would trust their partners to use it effectively. This is additional support for my argument that male hormonal contraception is good for both the medical world and society.

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Liu, P. Y., Swerdloff, R. S., Christenson, P. D., Handelsman, D. J., & Wang, C. (2006). Rate, extent, and modifiers of spermatogenic recovery after hormonal contraception: an integrated analysis. Lancet, 367, 1412-1420.

I liked this study because it focused on the reversibility of male hormonal contraception rather than the effectiveness. This is important for helping ease any apprehensions one might have about this method. The authors make an important point, which I intend to mention in my paper, that male hormonal contraception is going to serve as an intermediate option between the current choice of condoms (advantage: reversible; disadvantage: not as effective) and vasectomies (advantage: highly effective; disadvantage: not reversible).

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Mommers, E., Kersemaekers, W. M., Kepers, M., Apter, D., Behre, H. M., Beynon, J., et al. (2008). Male hormonal contraception: A double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 93 (7), 2572-2580.

In my opinion, this is the most important trial on this topic because it was the first large-scale, placebo-controlled study. It was a phase II efficacy trial, which is indicative of significant progress in this area of research. The trial tested two types of ENG implants (low-release and high-release) coupled with various doses of testosterone undecanoate (750 mg in 3 mL every 12 weeks, 750 mg in 3 mL every 10 weeks, and 1000 mg in 4 mL every 12 weeks). The placebo groups received both a false implant and false injections. The most effective methods were the high-release implant with testosterone administered by 750 mg in 3 mL every 10 weeks, and the high-release implant with testosterone administered by 1000 mg in 4 mL every 12 weeks, 93% and 95%, respectively. This article is probably the most important one I have that deals with the scientific prowess of the treatment, so I predict that the majority of my argument for the medical aspect will come from this paper.

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Potts, M. (2003). Two pills, two paths: a tale of gender bias. Endeavor, 27 (3), 127-130.

This was an interesting article because it compared the different histories of the Pill and Viagra. I was aware of Viagra being labeled "the miracle drug", but I had no idea the Pill had undergone so much scrutiny. The author brings up a fascinating possible explanation which he calls a "gender bias" based on the primitive belief that men should be the ones in control of reproduction. I'm going to use this article to introduce some of the social aspects associated with male hormonal contraception.