Under the Covers: Inject equality into contraceptions

There’s a new birth control for people who have penises that’s been making waves in the medical field.

It’s non-hormonal, long-lasting and likely reversible. The catch?

It’s a shot to the balls — literally.

Vasalgel, a new contraceptive, was developed by the nonprofit Parsemus Foundation as a “social venture” to ensure affordability and widespread accessibility — a refreshing change from the usual big pharma productions. According to the foundation, “the goal is for it to cost a day or two’s average wages in wealthy countries, not a week’s wages — $800 or more! — like current long-acting contraceptives (IUDs) for women in the U.S.”

The foundation will soon test the drug on humans, and is optimistic that Vasalgel will hit the market as early as 2018.

That gives people with penises about two years to decide if they want a needle anywhere near their genitals.

Though I do not have a penis, I’m very excited about this new breakthrough. All people with penises who are in a relationship where an unwanted pregnancy could occur should seriously consider this birth control method, shot be damned.

It’s high time that the medical field develop a way for people with penises to actively participate in contraception in a more reliable way than an 82 percent effective condom or in a less permanent way than a vasectomy. The penis-having community should jump at this chance.

As of now, the burden of contraception falls almost entirely on people with vaginas. There are more than 11 complex and thoroughly researched types of birth control for women, yet the only thing a person with a penis can do is wear a condom, undergo a vasectomy or, God forbid, use the pull out method.

This unfair dichotomy is only adding to the patriarchal stereotype that people with vaginas are responsible for all things pertaining to children. It perpetuates society’s view that women are to blame for unplanned pregnancies. If we’re the only ones with effective birth control, then obviously it must be our fault when something goes wrong. In actuality, the responsibility for preventing unwanted pregnancies should be shared equally between partners.

Like most things, the responsibility gap comes down to money. According to the Parsemus Foundation, big pharma stopped its research on new contraceptive devices for people with penises because it didn’t believe the market would be lucrative enough, and it didn’t want to potentially damage existing sales on contraceptives for people with vaginas. Most smaller companies do not have the funding to adequately create an effective, mass market birth control.

Partly because of its relatively small-scale funding operation built on investment partnerships, while it is prepping to do so soon, Parsemus has not yet started tested Vasalgel on human subjects. All of its results are still speculative to an extent since the only test subjects have been rabbits.

How Vasalgel works is actually pretty simple. Doctors inject a gel into the vas deferens — the tube that sperm swim through to make their daring escape. Once injected, the gel adheres to the wall of the vas deferens, making the available pathway too small for sperm to pass through. Unable to get by, the sperm simply reabsorb into the body.

During these rabbit trials, researchers found that 11 out of 12 rabbits had seminal fluid free of sperm for an entire year. That means this shot that seems so dauntingmay only have to be annual.

Do you know what’s not an annual burden? Kids. They’re a 24/7, 365 days of the year kind of thing. And don’t forget about those nine glorious months before they come along when you’re living your life with a hormonally imbalanced partner who probably alternates between sobbing uncontrollably and wanting to rip your head off.

That shot’s probably not looking so bad now.

And speaking of hormones, Vasalgel being hormone-free means no unwanted fluctuations in testosterone and estrogen. Your sex drive and erections won’t droop.

In comparison, almost all birth control for people with vaginas is hormone-based. Oral contraceptives, contraceptive patches, vaginal rings, injections and intrauterine systems all affect the levels of estrogen and progesterone in the body. These fluctuations in hormones can produce less-than-pleasant side effects, such as irregular bleeding, breast tenderness, nausea, headaches, abdominal bloating, weight gain, increased risk of developing a blood clot and decreased bone density.

The reversibility of Vasalgel is what’s most questionable at the moment, though arguably the most important aspect of the treatment. But when researchers injected seven rabbits with sodium bicarbonate to flush out the gel, “semen samples showed a rapid return on sperm,” for all seven rabbits.

Though the initial human trial will involve people with penises who accept the possibility of irreversibility, the creators are optimistic that the contraception will be completely reversible when put on the market. As of March 30, a full report of the trial, entitled “Azoospermia in rabbits following an intravas injection of Vasalgel,” is now available on Basic and Clinical Andrology, an open-access journal “covering all aspects of male reproductive and sexual health in both human and animal models.”

But the question remains: Will people with penises actually use this contraceptive measure?

There’s no market research on the topic yet, so I have taken it upon myself to ask people whether they’d be willing to get a shot in their balls for the good of their relationship. My results were rather varied.

I’ve gotten anywhere from “no way” and “I’m uncomfortably sweating just thinking about it,” to “maybe, it depends” to complete silence to — finally ­— a resounding “of course.”

I would hope the majority of people would give positive affirmation. I’m not saying that refusing to use this contraceptive device is inherently bad. I would never want to police someone’s choices about their own body, and I realize that contraceptive choices are personal and people should not take them lightly.

All I’m asking is for people with penises to try to look past the daunting needle and see the big picture — there may finally be a reliable, reversible, affordable way to help avoid unwanted pregnancies.

If you consider all aspects and still come to the conclusion that Vasalgel just isn’t for you, that’s completely fine. And if you come to the conclusion that it is, that’s great, too.

Just don’t let fear of the shot cloud your judgment, because it really is like your nurse always says — “This will only hurt a little. It’s just a prick.”

Write to Bridget at bpm36@pitt.edu.