Birth-control pill for men raises questions

By Gan Matthews, NEWS 9

An Oklahoma researcher makes a breakthrough that may revolutionize the birds and the bees.

When it comes to male contraception, there are really only two choices: condoms and vasectomies.

But things could be changing in the world of reproduction--with the prospect of a male contraception pill.

Lindsey Prosofsky and her husband are expecting their second child. She thinks many women would welcome such a pill.

"In the past, it's been kind of on the women's shoulders to, if that's what you want to use, instead of using condoms and that sort of thing, it's placed on your shoulders to be the responsible one," Prosofsky said.

At the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Dr. Kevin Moore and his co-workers made the discovery in the lab when they removed a certain cloned enzyme in mice.

"So, the only difference that we saw between these mice and normal mice is that when you mate them with females these mice didn't have babies," Moore said.

Prosofsky's doctor thinks it's much too early to talk about a male contraceptive pill.

"It would be years and years and years before something could be proven in humans, and then submitted and tested and approved by our FDA, but I think the idea is very appealing," Prosofsky's OBGYN Dr. Julie Hagar said.

Researchers at OMRF said the kind of enzyme blocker they're working with would probably have fewer negative side effects than the hormonal birth control that women use currently.