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An unrecognisable person (man) takes some pills. There is a pile of pills on the table.

Source: Aitor Diago / Getty

Alright, my guys, this is not a drill! Scientists are reporting that they have made major progress on a thing women all over the world have been waiting for—a contraceptive for men. 

You’ve probably been scrolling through social media and seen posts where a question was posed to men (usually by women) about whether they would be willing to take birth control medication if it were available for men to take. A lot of us were reluctant at best about the idea. But some of us have at least been interested in the possibility. After all, why should women be the only ones responsible for pregnancy prevention?

Anyway, according to a press release from the American Chemical Society (ACS), a new male contraceptive was found to be 99 percent effective when tested in mice. Scientists presented the research Wednesday at an ACS meeting.

From The Hill:

Gunda Georg, a medicinal chemist who leads the University of Minnesota lab conducting the research, said that human testing of the nonhormonal male contraceptive could begin as soon as the third or fourth quarter of 2022.

“Scientists have been trying for decades to develop an effective male oral contraceptive,” said Abdullah Al Noman, a graduate student involved in the research. 

Currently, no approved male birth control bills are on the market, he said.

The ACS noted that the majority of male birth control pills in the works use hormones to target testosterone, which could potentially cause side effects such as weight gain, depression and increased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.

Now, we all know some women who have been taking birth control for generations and living with the side effects are probably rolling their eyes at science going out of its way to make sure men don’t have to go through any of that. Still, Noman says he and his team aim to “develop a non-hormonal male contraceptive to avoid these side effects.”

For four weeks, male mice were given the birth control compound orally and it was found to be 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy in female mice with no noticeable side effects to the males. Of course, mice aren’t men, but worry not, because human test subjects are on the agenda for the compound’s development.

“Because it can be difficult to predict if a compound that looks good in animal studies will also pan out in human trials, we’re currently exploring other compounds, as well,” Georg said.

So how do y’all feel about the possibility of male birth control? Men, are you down, or nah?