Birth control for men?

CNN: Where's the male birth control pill?

CNN posted a great article today not only about the evolution of women's birth control, but also about recent debates about male birth control.  While women have many options to choose from when it comes to preventing pregnancy, the article states, men don't.  Lately, researchers have been looking into developing a male pill that would theoretically reduce or shut off sperm production.  It has also noted that researchers also have injections and contraceptive gels in clinical trials as well.

This is actually some fantastic news in terms of sex and gender parity.  First, it will hopefully (as long as clinical trials are successful) give people another additional layer of protection against pregnancy, which is something that I am seeing ridiculously too often (especially among others of my generation).  Second, it takes a lot of pressure off of the woman to be the solely responsible one for birth control.  Currently, the status quo seems to be men encouraging women to go on birth control so a) they won't get pregnant; and b) men don't have to wear condoms. [1]  That whole standard is really unfair to women, who are then forced to bear sole responsibility for reproduction, something that actually requires two people to make happen.

I think it would be interesting to see a whole role-reversal with birth control, showing women encouraging their men to go on the pill.  It should cause some more understanding, especially understanding all of the effects that birth control has on the body.  Reading the info sheet that comes with my prescription, I got a little nervous first taking the pill.  One of the worst side effects I noted was ovarian cysts, which trust me, are excruciatingly painful.  The fact that women are forced to put up with that is beyond ridiculous, and maybe if men were forced to take pills full of hormones, they may be a little more understanding if a woman doesn't want to use it and would rather use a condom.

Personally, I see this advancement as not only an advancement for reproductive health, I see it as an advancement for women as well.  It is creating more equal responsibility in reproduction, and will hopefully shift the burden from almost entirely off of women to a shared burden for equal partners in a relationship.  Although it seems small, it really will make a large step towards equality, especially in such a powerful arena.

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[1] Which is a stupid thing anyway.  Men, would you rather be slightly 'uncomfortable' during sex or would you rather have a baby?  I'm pretty sure I know the answer.