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David J. Handelsman, Hormonal Male Contraception—Lessons from the East When the Western Market Fails, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 88, Issue 2, 1 February 2003, Pages 559–561, https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2002-021997
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Extract
The development of hormonal contraception was surely among the highest achievements of applied biomedical science during the 20th century. Combining the biological insight that pregnancy created a reversible anovulatory state via negative hormonal feedback with innovative steroid chemistry, the introduction of hormonal contraception in 1960 transformed society quietly but fundamentally. By providing women with the fifth freedom (1), that from incessant and unpredictable pregnancy (2), this peerless product of human ingenuity allowed women to participate more fully in work and society outside the home. Historically, men’s participation in deliberate family planning was always substantial, having been instrumental in the demographic transition from high to low fertility societies. Moreover, it remains substantial with 150 million couples, over one quarter of all using contraception, employing methods that rely on male participation (3). Yet, whereas the last few decades saw the introduction of a variety of reliable and reversible contraceptives for women, not a single new contraceptive method for men was introduced during the last century (4). Consequently, over the last few decades the responsibility for reliable family planning shifted heavily onto women. For men to resume a greater responsibility for family planning, more reliable reversible male contraceptive methods need to be available.
