Live data from Hacker News

New male contraceptive may be submitted for Indian approval this year

bloomberg.com

71–80 of 331 posts

Re: New male contraceptive may be submitted for Indian approval this year

#71

I remember reading about this maybe 6 years ago. What was memorable was that the gel was even cheaper than the syringe. It's sad how slow these things move and that we're not going to have that in North-America for a good time.

I wish it could go faster, but the truth is this is exactly the sort of thing that should go slowly. It is much better for birth control to have a certain effectiveness, after all. Since this is an injection, probably best to have good tests with longevity as well. It isn't bad to go back every couple years for this, but this is the sort of information one needs to know upfront. Unfortunately, finding this initial st…

A problem in the US is that the company that wants to sell this is the company that needs to pay for the studies required to make it legal. However because it is so cheap, it's difficult for the company to make a profit. The same thing can be found with many supplements. For example, N-acetylcysteine has shown to be helpful in several forms of addiction and mood disorders, but because it is so cheap, no company will front the money needed to make it a medication. We need to change the system so that the research is paid for by the government somehow, in my opinion.

Re: New male contraceptive may be submitted for Indian approval this year

#72

Should I have children, I see myself walking my teenage son to the clinic to get this done. A rite of passage of sorts. It is difficult to understate the importance of bringing only wanted children into this world, and that both parents agree on it. The cultural importance of this invention will be revealed in time, I hope.

I find it inconceivable that you'd want to encourage high risk of stds by advocating something that only prevents pregnancy

Re: New male contraceptive may be submitted for Indian approval this year

#73
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but you might forget about it for 10years and it might flush itself.

I can see it now... YC Winter Batch 2018. SaaS tool to remind people when they need their testicle injection.

This is intended to last until a second injection is administered to reverse it.

Re: New male contraceptive may be submitted for Indian approval this year

#74
post #72

Should I have children, I see myself walking my teenage son to the clinic to get this done. A rite of passage of sorts. It is difficult to understate the importance of bringing only wanted children into this world, and that both parents agree on it. The cultural importance of this invention will be revealed in time, I hope.

I find it inconceivable that you'd want to encourage high risk of stds by advocating something that only prevents pregnancy

Sure, but condoms fail too. There is no reason not to use both.

Re: New male contraceptive may be submitted for Indian approval this year

#75
post #72

Should I have children, I see myself walking my teenage son to the clinic to get this done. A rite of passage of sorts. It is difficult to understate the importance of bringing only wanted children into this world, and that both parents agree on it. The cultural importance of this invention will be revealed in time, I hope.

I find it inconceivable that you'd want to encourage high risk of stds by advocating something that only prevents pregnancy

The same could be said of female contraception, yet I don't see many people complaining about that. Why do you think that is?

Re: New male contraceptive may be submitted for Indian approval this year

#76

I thought it was going to be a pill, we already have vasectomies.

Just to note, vasectomies are no walk in the park, and should be treated as final rather than a simple contraception option (though they can be reversed, just not easily).

While you can go back to day-to-date activities after a few days, there is still extra time to heal fully. Pain can hang around for a long time in some cases—even years. Infection is also a big concern, so take it should be taken very seriously.

With all of that said, a vasectomy is a much better and simpler option than female sterilization for a majority of people and has a high success rate.

Re: New male contraceptive may be submitted for Indian approval this year

#77
post #72

Should I have children, I see myself walking my teenage son to the clinic to get this done. A rite of passage of sorts. It is difficult to understate the importance of bringing only wanted children into this world, and that both parents agree on it. The cultural importance of this invention will be revealed in time, I hope.

I find it inconceivable that you'd want to encourage high risk of stds by advocating something that only prevents pregnancy

I find it inconceivable that you'd equate contraceptives with "encourage high risk of stds."

Re: New male contraceptive may be submitted for Indian approval this year

#78
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it inconceivable that you'd want to encourage high risk of stds by advocating something that only prevents pregnancy

The same could be said of female contraception, yet I don't see many people complaining about that. Why do you think that is?

Oh, there are a ton of people complaining that female contraception encourages people to have sex they shouldn't be having. It's not usually framed in terms of STDs, but I'm pretty sure the STD argument here is just a cover for a moralistic argument anyway.

Re: New male contraceptive may be submitted for Indian approval this year

#79
post #41

I can imagine the early adopters: male actors, athletes and other men of high social value as a way to enjoy sex without the chance of unwanted offspring.

Pretty sure the early adopters are going to be any one who wants to have sex ...

Why do you assume that anyone who wants to have sex will be seeking out not only contraception, but an experimental, first-of-its-kind contraceptive?

I want to (and do) have sex and I never use contraceptives. Were I interested in curtailing the birth of my children, even before I was married, I would absolutely NOT use a drug that is brand new.

Ultimately this needs to be recognized as a convenience thing. Condoms are a very effective, extremely low-risk option. They require no modifications to your biological system and reliably prevent pregnancy (not to mention STDs).

Even drugs like "the pill", now old-school, put people at risk for scary complications that sometimes happen and significant undesirable side effects that frequently happen.

We all love science and technology and that's great, but drugs are risky, and effects are often not visible until they've been in public use for some years. There are a lot of really sad examples of this, where some widely-prescribed drug has a little-known side effect or misunderstood risk profile for some patients, and it can, and literally has, resulted in death.

One should consider the risk involved when weighing "Would I rather take five seconds to slip on a condom, or inject myself with this experimental and/or brand new drug?"

I'm sure there will be early adopters, but as someone who wants to have sex, there is no way I will be among them.

Re: New male contraceptive may be submitted for Indian approval this year

#80
post #76

I thought it was going to be a pill, we already have vasectomies.

Just to note, vasectomies are no walk in the park, and should be treated as final rather than a simple contraception option (though they can be reversed, just not easily). While you can go back to day-to-date activities after a few days, there is still extra time to heal fully. Pain can hang around for a long time in some cases—even years. Infection is also a big concern, so take it should be taken very seriously. Wi…

Just to add, I don't want my comments to scare any males considering the option. If you are at the time in life to stop having children, and you have no condition preventing the procedure, it's really the best option and will more than likely not have any issues. It sometimes doesn't even require pain medication.
Post reply on HN