“Don’t worry baby, I’m on the pill.” This is usually a 
woman’s quote, but sooner or later, it may be said by 
a man. That’s right!! A MAN!!!
Girls may be taking a break. Thanks to scientists, a 
new form of birth control is being created, but this 
time for men. Many girls agree that it’s time for guys 
to take responsibility, but are they man enough to 
remember to take it everyday? 
The birth control pill for men is being tested, and 
could be released in 2005. Up to now it has proved to 
be 100% effective in preliminary clinical trials. The 
pill is not yet approved for the market, but when it 
is, it will probably cost the same as birth control 
pills for women. Scientists are still testing it to 
see if there are any side effects. Studies have shown 
that a small percentage of men had weight gain, 
similar to the effects of the female pill. 
Guys are you wondering how the pill works? Well, the 
testicles make two things, sperm and testosterone. The 
pill adds external testosterone into the male body and 
stops signals from the brain to the testes. As a 
result, sperm is not created. 
Even though sperm is not created, the male still feels 
the same satisfaction while having sexual intercourse 
or other activities (if you know what I mean!). Guys, 
don’t worry about losing any pleasure! 
Any male can take the pill. Like his female 
counterpart, the man must remember to take the pill 
every day. Otherwise, the pill won’t be effective and 
sperm will be created. If a guy fails to remember then 
there is a possibility that he could get his partner 
pregnant. 
We went around town and asked guys and girls from the 
ages 14-20 what they thought about the birth control 
pill for men. Surprisingly, few people had heard of 
it. Out of 18 girls, only 3 knew about it and only 4 
out of 18 guys have heard about it. 
From the people we interviewed, we found out that many 
guys would take the pill, except they wouldn’t trust 
themselves to take it every day. Guys aren’t used to 
using any birth control against pregnancy except 
condoms. Although the pill will prevent pregnancies, 
only condoms will protect against STDs and AIDS. 
Some men say it would be a little hard to get used to 
having as much responsibility as women do. Watsonville 
High School (WHS) student Ryan Rodríguez called the 
idea “stupid,” and added, “I think that guys don’t 
need to protect themselves, only girls.” 
We asked 18 guys if they consider themselves 
responsible enough to take the pill. Nine out of 18 
said they would trust themselves to take the pill 
every day. A 20-year-old guy said, “I  would trust 
myself because I don’t want to have a big 
responsibility like having a baby.” The remaining nine 
said they didn’t trust themselves enough. 
Some people wouldn’t take the pill under any 
circumstances. “Hell, no! Men were made to make 
sperm,” said Edgar Guillen, WHS sophomore, when asked 
if he would take the pill. He is not the only one that 
wouldn’t take it. Out of 18 males, 50% agreed with 
Edgar. 
Girls, what do you think? Do you think your partner is 
responsible enough to do a “girl thing?” It’s hard to 
know. We interviewed several teenage girls to get 
their opinion and 9 out of 18 said that they would 
trust their partner to have that  humongous 
responsibility of taking the pill. The remaining say 
they wouldn’t.  
Sarah Sorcia, a student at WHS said, “I would trust my 
partner because if I choose my partner to have sex 
with him, I  would also have to trust him to take the 
pill.” 
Other females said they weren’t ready to rely on their 
partner. One WHS student who wouldn’t trust her 
partner said, “I wouldn’t trust him because I don’t 
trust anyone with that type of responsibility. It’s 
very hard to trust some guys.” 
Many girls think it’s the guys’ turn to have a little 
taste of responsibility. “It takes two to tango,” said 
Tammy Uresti, a WHS sophomore. Hey, guys, sooner or 
later it may be your turn to take action and prevent 
unplanned pregnancies. Then it might be a shower, a 
shave, and a pill. So what do you think?