Stop everything! Better birth control for men may be closer than you think

Or it might not be. For now, the good news is that if you are a gentleman rabbit, this new medical advance has got your swimmers covered – and rendered non-baby-making – for one whole year. Hurrah! *wiggles tail*

Answer to our prayers?

The less good news is that for human males, there’s still a little more work to be done before men can take responsibility for their own tadpoles in ways that aren’t surgical or condom-y.

A new report released on Tuesday heralds some promising news on the mantraception front.

“The potential answer to our prayers is Vasalgel, a gel that essentially provides an easily reversed vasectomy,” Mashable reports. The charmingly-named treatment works in ways that some gents may find off-putting and less prayer-answering than Mashable indicates.

Its application goes a little something like this: polymer gel is injected into the vas deferens, forming a filter that prevents sperm wriggling through during sexual activity. The gel apparently allows other molecules to flow freely, so there’s apparently no painful build up – and no ongoing discomfort for the frisky gent in question. The trapped sperm is then reabsorbed into the body. Job done. So to speak.

 

No pain, no gain

While women routinely undergo a multitude of painful, bracing or downright irritating procedures related to their nether regions, it’s unclear if men are equally keen to experience discomfort in the name of birth control.

Our hunch is that the idea of an injection into their reproductive bits might put some gents off this otherwise incredibly helpful option.

The beauty of Vasalgel is that it can be undone fairly easily. In fact, it works a bit like a temporary vasectomy, with (another!) injection of a baking soda-based solution being all that’s needed to dissolve the “sperm dam” and allow the swimmers to flow freely again.

The bunny story

Trials in rabbits not only confirmed that Vasalgel stops sperm – and lady bunny pregnancies – but that the “antidote” saw semen returning to normal quickly.

So there you go folks. If your gent is a rabbit, science has his family planning totally covered (but you might consider seeing a therapist some time in the near future.)

And if your gent is a human, well this simple method is on the far away horizon and may some day be available.

If you’d like to help speed things up and get Vasalgel on the market sooner, rather than later, head to the Parsemus Foundation website and find out about how you can pitch in and help spread the word.