Article 3GZQQ More than half a century later, where’s the male pill?

More than half a century later, where’s the male pill?

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Enlarge / Women today have multiple options for contraception; researchers hope to soon give men the same degree of choice. (credit: BSIP/UIG via Getty Images)

In 1940s India, Dr. Marthe Voegeli made a potentially world-changing discovery: that exposing the testicles to hot water baths at temperatures of 116 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes every day for three weeks provided six months of reliable contraception.

She carried out a series of experiments showing that men could achieve varying lengths of contraceptive effectiveness from these hot baths. Getting men to take part in her research in the 1940s and '50s was no mean feat for a woman of her time, and she only managed to recruit dozens of men to her trials, however. That's far short of the hundreds and thousands who would be required to take part in a meaningful trial nowadays.

Despite this, Voegeli's preliminary results were promising. Yet the aims of her research were soon forgotten. Why? The female hormonal contraceptive pill was approved by the FDA in 1960, and interest in her work waned as the quest for non-intrusive, reliable contraception was deemed by many to have been realized.

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