Seems like the responsibility of avoiding unplanned pregnancies can now be shared by both men and women, thanks to a new birth control pill for MEN, that, in testing, has proved 99% effective. Via VICE:

Researchers from the University of Minnesota presented their findings at the American Chemical Society’s Spring 2022 conference in San Diego, California on Tuesday. The pill’s secret—it does not target testosterone, the male sex hormone, thereby cutting the risk of side effects that have so far kept other drugs from landing in pharmacies.

“Most female birth control pills work on the female sex hormones,” said Abdullah al Noman, one of the researchers, noting the lack of approved male oral contraceptive on the market.

“[But] targeting the male sex hormone leads to a lot of side effects such as weight gain, depression and increased risk of cardiovascular diseases,” he said. “Men are less willing to take a birth control pill that has significant side effects. That’s why we are targeting a non-hormonal pathway to developing a male birth control pill.”

A birth control pill for men that doesn’t mess with their hormones? Amazing! How does it work? Well, the science is pretty er, science-y. But the bottom line?

The researchers then gave YCT529 orally to male mice over a period of four weeks, and found it dramatically reduced their sperm counts and prevented pregnancy by 99 percent without causing any observable side effects.

Crucially, the male mice became fertile again after four to six weeks of being taken off YCT529.

Ok, yep, SIGN US UP.