Will new form of male birth control mean far fewer kids?

Would new male birth control lead to a big drop in reproduction rates? (AP)

Scientists are getting closer to developing an effective
male birth control, according to a recent report from the Los Angeles Times. Some are speculating that could mean a big drop in
in reproduction rates.

The new birth control method, currently being tested,
comes in the form of a gel and early results show it can
dramatically decrease sperm count to levels that would
make reproduction unlikely.

“If there were a pill that dudes could take, or even a gel
that guys could apply, before they went out with their
buddies for a night on the town, where they’re hoping to
maybe meet a gal or whatever, every guy I know would
absolutely use it,” says 97.3 KIRO FM host Luke Burbank.

Burbank observes that much of the time birth control
defaults to the woman’s responsibility, unless a guy is
willing to wear a condom. If that were to change,
however, he expects a wide range of ripple effects,
including a dramatic decrease in reproduction rates.

“Most guys, if you hooked them up to a lie detector and
said, ‘Would you rather have your Friday nights where you
can go get beers with your buddies, sleep in on Saturday
morning, live your life, or would you rather become a
parent and bring on all that responsibility?’ I think most
guys, if they were being totally honest would say, ‘Can we
wait another year on this whole baby thing?'”

Co-host Dave Ross disagrees, saying when he had kids it
wasn’t just his wife looking forward to their arrival, he
wanted them too.

“It’s not that, ‘OK they came along so we might as well
love them. No, we really wanted to have kids because we
had great childhoods. We knew they would be fun. They
turned out to be fun, mostly fun,” says Ross. “They were
your ticket to rainy mornings watching a second grade
soccer game.”

Burbank, who is also a father, agrees kids are wonderful
and says it’s one of the best things in life. But he
maintains guys having more control over contraception
would likely change things dramatically.

“I think the number one fear among single dudes is not
getting an STD generally, it’s getting someone pregnant,”
says Burbank. “When they come up with a really effective
male birth control a lot of the stuff about the society is
going to change, because a lot of it is driven by
decisions to have unprotected sex, by getting strong-armed
into things, and by guys not having a lot of control over
their ability to reproduce outside of wearing a condom or
getting snipped.”

Listen – Luke also thinks male birth control will have
an impact on marriage:

By JAMIE GRISWOLD, MyNorthwest.com Editor