The onus of preventing pregnancy has fallen on women for time immemorial – from estrogen pills to intrauterine devices, to contraceptive patches, to the newly-introduced estetrol and progestin pill Nextstellis, which is supposed to have the least side effects of birth control methods that target female reproductive systems.

Socio-political factors of patriarchy, however, are slowly becoming redundant as researchers at the University of Minnesota, USA, are working to develop a non-hormonal birth control pill for men. Currently, there are only two clinical methods for male contraception: condoms and vasectomies, if abstinence and the infamous “pulling-out” method are discounted.

The contraceptive tackles a protein which is one of three nuclear receptors that bind retinoic acid. The acid is a kind of vitamin A that contributes to cell formation and growth, and sperm creation. Removing this protein, the retinoic acid receptor alpha, in an experimental trial with male mice proved successful. Trials are yet to begin on human males, but the research surrounding retinoic acid receptors is growing, with some contraceptives even targeting all three receptors.

While the pharmaceutical advantage of birth control for males might be purely financial, the social benefits are straightforward yet aplenty: equal opportunity for male and female birth control, with a chance for women to avoid the side effects of popping hormone-filled pills.

Clinical trials of the pills in human males are due to begin at the end of this year, as per the American Chemical Society.[2] The trials will likely undergo several phases before being approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for commercial distribution. But once Big Pharma is on board, the pill will reach parts of the world where even condoms might be difficult contraceptives to reach.

However, it is only prudent to recognize that clinical research is incomplete without the social will and political backing to implement a drug that has implications far beyond being just a contraceptive. It will shift the burden of birth control, change the role of men in society, and for many communities, provide more options for family planning and population management.