Man’s best friend
The male pill, now in clinical trials, will do for men what the female pill has done for women, only better—men won’t have to remember to take it every day
FORTY-ONE years ago, the female pill made its debut and revolutionised the world. Today, a contraceptive “pill” for men is undergoing clinical trials—and your correspondent is one of the test subjects. The male pill is actually a plastic rod, about the size of a hair-grip, which releases a steady dose of a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone, called etonogestrel, into the bloodstream. Six months ago, I had the rod implanted in my upper arm, under local anaesthetic. The procedure was painless, although it did leave a large bruise on my left bicep. Assuming I'm not amongst the 14% of volunteers who are on the placebo, I am now infertile.
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