I recently read an article in The Independent, titled ‘Yes, contraceptives have side effects – and it’s time for men to put up with them too’. The writer’s sarcastic tone boiled down to the opinion that, regarding recent clinical trials for a male contraceptive injection with a 96% success rate, men were weak for deeming side effects that women commonly experience on the combined contraceptive pill ‘intolerable’. This is a much bigger issue and argument than just ‘men wimping out’, and more significant than ‘just 20 men’ out of a trial of 320 who were unhappy with side effects such as depression, muscle pain, mood swings and acne. Having taken the pill since the age of 18, I’m more than aware of the range of side effects, and these are just the minor ones. But if you look at the standard leaflet that comes with any prescribed medication, ‘common side effects’ are listed as those affecting ‘between 1 and 10 in every 100 users’, making the symptoms of just 20 men out of 320 a ‘common’ reaction. Admittedly, similar side effects to female hormonal contraception are just as frequently reported, but this doesn’t make it right that others should be expected to endure them. We also can’t accurately compare clinical trials in 2016 to those in the fifties, when women were not properly warned of potential side effects.

I take real issue with the writer’s mention that ‘women have had to bear the responsibility of contraception since the pill was first launched in 1962.’ Contraception of any form is a personal choice, and is not exclusive to the female contraceptive pill. At no point have I been ‘expected’ to take this form of contraception. I have deemed the side effects that I experience acceptable given that it’s preferable to the alternative, which I am definitely not ready for yet. Likewise, I would never expect a partner to persist with a form of contraception that was not working for them.
In addition, for many young women the pill is not prescribed solely as contraception, but rather to alleviate abnormal periods, clear skin, and regulate the menstrual cycle, so to imply that every woman who takes the pill is suffering greatly is inaccurate. For these reasons alone, even if a partner was on this revolutionary male contraceptive, I’d still probably continue with my pill.

I hold nothing against the men who dropped out of the trial, which was stopped by an independent committee monitoring safety, but I do blame professionals for waiting until the male contraceptive trial to address the risks, including cancer and blood clots, that can arise as a result of taking female hormonal contraception. Research into its link with depression was not started until this year, and it’s likely that that was to do with men also experiencing the side effect. Let’s not blame men, but rather the medical associations valuing male opinions more than those of women who have been waiting for over fifty years for a safe and effective contraceptive pill.

Helen Brealey
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