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> Also important to note that permanent infertility is quite a strong side effect I know many who would see that as a blessing though: License to have as much
by CiPHPerCoder 10y ago
> Also important to note that permanent infertility is quite a strong side effect
I know many who would see that as a blessing though: License to have as much unprotected sex as they want without the unfortunate side-effect of an unwanted pregnancy. And they get paid for the experiment in the first place too? Win-win, they would argue.
- elmin 10y agoOf course they lost the ability to have wanted pregnancy which is a pretty serious loss for some people.
- CiPHPerCoder 10y agoThis is a non-issue for me, but I thought it was a perspective that bears mentioning (since I hear it a lot from heterosexual men).
- icanhackit 10y ago> they lost the ability to have wanted pregnancy Right, but I suspect the parent implied that this could be a feature that many would seek out - basically the chemical equivalent of a vasectomy that can't be undone. Some people, like me, really don't want kids. Taking control of it so that you're not relying on your partner is important as trust (that they haven't forgotten to use contraception or worse - deliberately not take it) isn't a rock-solid security policy. It's also not fair on females to be the only ones in charge of contraception for bare-skin sex.
- CorpOverreach 10y agoExactly this! If I can take a shot or a pill rather than a scalpel to my balls... sign me up.
- gaius 10y agoBut it's an unpredictable side effect. It might just stop working a few years later...
- gnaritas 10y agoSo it needs work, but a chemical vasectomy would be great.
- nmeofthestate 10y agoThe ablity to sterilise people with a pill/injection is a fairly scary prospect.
- jamesrcole 10y agoWhy? Having the means to do so is very very different from forcing it upon someone. Means to kill someone else are readily available to everyone -- kitchen knives, over the counter drugs -- but simply their availability isn't that scary.
- gaius 10y agoSlip it into someone's pills at a mental hospital say. Sweden was doing stuff like that up until the 1970s.
- jamesrcole 10y agoWhat were they giving to the patients? Was the existence of what they were giving to those patients a scary thing just for existing - coz that's the question here.
- gaius 10y agoThe ease with which something can be done makes a huge difference and it's disingenuous to argue otherwise.
- cknoxrun 10y agoJust to clarify, they don't use a scalpel anymore (getting snipped next month).
- TheSpiceIsLife 10y agoSome people, like me, really don't want kids One thing I've learned as I've collected laps-around-the-sun is that Present Me is a poor judge of what Future Me wants.
- icanhackit 10y agoYou possibly underestimate my age or find it difficult to fathom why I don't want kids.
- jamesrcole 10y agoWhat, aside from never making any decisions (which is a itself a kind of decision), can you do other than trying to make the best decision you can right now?
- philipov 10y agoThe honest to goodness answer here is that you can let other people make decisions for you, and it is the desire to make decisions for other people that prompts this argument.
- jschwartzi 10y agoWhile you can let other purple make decisions for you, you really should not.
- gaur 10y agoAnother thing I've learned is that far too many parents take the statement "I don't want kids" as a personal challenge to moralize and condescend to people without children.
- TheSpiceIsLife 10y agoOne could argue it is evolutionary advantageous for parents to do this.
- BobCat 10y agoNo babies, just HIV and herpes. Sounds like a deal.
- darklajid 10y agoIf you want a near-permanent way to avoid pregnancies there's already a way for that. The many people you know that would love to be permanently infertile can get what they want in a matter of minutes, in a proven/well-known way.
- aianus 10y ago> The many people you know that would love to be permanently infertile can get what they want in a matter of minutes, in a proven/well-known way. Are you sure about that? As far as I know nearly all urologists in the US will refuse to perform a vasectomy on a childless man, especially if they're in their 20s and/or unmarried.
- darklajid 10y agoNot from the US and I did the procedure in my thirties, married, with two kids. But the doctor didn't ask about any of this (he obviously knew my age). I just had to sign that I was lectured about the potential risks and consequences - similar to the preparations for any medical operation really. And I had to agree on the price, since this (obviously?) isn't covered by basic health care here.. ;) So.. No idea. My doctor didn't know about my marriage or kids though.
- Scarblac 10y agoThen presumably they'd have the same problems with giving this injection as a means of becoming permanently infertile.
- gaur 10y agoWeird. The one comment suggesting that some participants probably see this as a feature is heavily downvoted, but the comments saying that this is shocking and awful are upvoted. I had no idea HN was so pro-birth.
- tomp 10y agoDepends what this study was about. If you were recruiting people as "try this contraceptive method", then permanent infertility is one of the most horrible side-effects possible. If, on the other hand, the focus of the study was "here are some pills that might make you permanently, or maybe just temporarily infertile", then it's fine. But then you wouldn't call it "contraceptive" or "birth control", I guess...
- matt_wulfeck 10y agoThere are already simple, safe surgeries men can undergo that cause permanent infertility. I also can't see why someone would suggest this side effect is a benefit.
- gaur 10y ago> I also can't see why someone would suggest this side effect is a benefit. Well if you can't see it, that surely must mean nobody can, right?
- nowarninglabel 10y agoHave you actually talked to someone who has had a vasectomy? They are debilitatingly painful. Sure, as a side effect, it's unfortunate, but if a pill were available that was designed for this effect it would be a blessing.
- darklajid 10y agoThat is the most ridiculous FUD I've read in a while here. It takes 20 minutes and you walk out. You'll feel not a thing (you might feel the injections of anesthetics). You 'recover' over a week of mostly nothing. I was riding my bike the day after the procedure. You don't see a change, you don't feel a change and it is completely painless. Ignoring myself I've talked to a good number of friends who've done the same thing, said the same thing. I haven't heard of one single person that had a vasectomy and complained about pain in any way or form. Honestly, I wonder why people would even wish for a 'chemical castration' all over this thread. Maybe your first line is something widely 'well known' and often repeated?
- beedogs 10y agoA vasectomy would've accomplished exactly the same thing with the benefit of being reversible. So I'm guessing they're not too happy with permanent infertility.
- prodigal_erik 10y agoNota bene: Do not rely on vasectomy reversal. It may or may not work.