h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As long as there are no long term side effects, such as permanent sterilization, the makers should become extremely wealthy. The only concern though, is if it will lead to a steady decrease in condom usage, which may cause a new epidemic on STD's. I know guys who have been waiting years for the dream of a pill for men to become a reality. Even married men will take it. It should be issued at universities. It may also lead to a decrease in birth rate wordwide. It may be legal inBritain by 20005 but it'll be another decade before the USDA approves it for Americans. I see a new black market for the pills and men eager to combine it with Viagra.

Well as long as it doesn't take until 20,005...

Seriously, I'm worried that as well as potentially increasing transmission of STDs, it could also potentially increase the incidence of rape. There must be some men who might have raped someone were it not for the potential to get them pregnant - if they were on this pill, with that risk removed, would then they do it?

That's probably not a really big issue, but it is something that should be considered.

Something else - the Pill puts control of contraception in the hands of the women, which is all well and good, because they're the ones who have to carry the babies around for nine months, and they're the ones who have to breastfeed them, and suffer various pains and unpleasantness for the ability to bear children. A male Pill gives some control to the man as well - but it should never replace the female Pill. However, couples who _really_ don't want to have children could both take the Pill, and use condoms too...

Nothing's ever going to replace condoms for protection against STDs - short of chastity, that is. At least, not in the foreseeable future.

Anything else I could mention in my incoherent ramblings? Probably. I have to say I wouldn't take it - but that's because of the injections more than anything else. If they could combine the testosterone booster into the oral part of the treatment, that'd be great. But I'd never do anything voluntarily that involved needles if it wasn't life and death of myself or someone close to me. I wish I didn't have that phobia, but I do, and that's that.

Could a male pill increase the incidence of unfaithfulness?

Re: Increased occurences of Rape - this might happen, but not because of the reduced risk of getting the woman pregnant.
If this male pill prevents ANY sperm being present, then wouldn't it be nearly impossible to get a DNA profile of the offender?
If so, then it would make it a lot harder to find the rapist?

Nope. I believe semen itself has enough DNA in it to get a profile - you don't need very much. And anyway, you can't use sperm because it's only got half the man's genome in it, so they must use semen!

I don't know why they don't just come up with an easily reversable vasectomy. Heck, if I could have I would have had it done to my son (at birth) (and to every guys that wants to date my daughter). Then when he can AFFORD to have it reversed then he's probably (hopefully) in a better position to bring one up.

Seriously, what's the side effects of having a vasectomy? None that I know of (considering I haven't had any in the 10 years I've had mine). Effective. Clean. And yes, the guy then doesn't have to "remember" to do it every day/month. Plus it's a great scar to show the chicks (kidding).

But vasectomies aren't easily reversible. No surgical procedure will ever be, so if you want to have kids later, a drug option is probably a better idea.

I am sure I have heard of a reversible vasectomy, where they block the ducts with a tiny marble-like ball.
However, I remember hearing that it is much more likely to not work, so maybe it is never done anymore.

Yes, that's always been the problem - the easier it is to reverse, the less effective it generally is.