Nearly half of pregnancies worldwide are unintended, yet men still have few contraceptive choices. That gap helps explain why birth control remains largely a woman’s responsibility — and why new male contraceptive options are needed.
Wei Yan, a reproductive biologist at Washington State University, argues that this is not just a scientific gap, but a women’s health issue. In a recent commentary in Biology of Reproduction, he calls for male contraceptive development to be treated as a core priority. When contraception fails, women bear most of the consequences.
The contraceptive burden women still carry
Women have many contraceptive options, from pills to implants. Men largely rely on condoms or vasectomy. Neither option fits all life stages, and both have limitations.
This imbalance carries real risks. Unintended pregnancy can harm women’s health and limit economic opportunity. Yan argues that the lack of investment in male contraceptive research has helped sustain this gap.
Why progress has been slow
Efforts to develop a male contraceptive pill have stretched over decades. Biology poses one hurdle, since sperm production is continuous and resilient.
Funding is another barrier. Drug developers face high safety standards for products used by healthy people. Public funding has also been limited, and male contraception rarely appears in women’s health agendas.
Yan sees clear potential. Greater investment in male contraceptives could reduce unintended pregnancies and better protect women’s health.
Reframing the issue
Yan’s central argument goes beyond expanding options for men. He frames the male contraceptive as a critical tool for protecting women’s health — and a neglected area of investment.
In an interview with Dave Miller of Oregon Public Broadcasting, Yan put it bluntly:
“If you don’t develop a male contraceptive, the women will bear this pregnancy outcome, so unintended pregnancy rates will remain high.”
He points to a structural problem in research funding. Women’s health initiatives have expanded in recent years, but they rarely include male contraceptive development. At the same time, pharmaceutical companies often avoid the field because of high costs, strict safety expectations, and uncertain returns.
Yan argues that this creates a cycle. Limited funding slows progress, which discourages further investment. Breaking that cycle, he says, requires recognizing male contraception as a women’s health priority — and funding it accordingly.
A call to action
Yan’s message is direct: policymakers, philanthropists, and research agencies need to rethink how they define women’s health.
He calls for male contraceptive research to be integrated into mainstream funding portfolios, including federal agencies and major global health initiatives. He also urges private foundations and donors to step in where industry has hesitated.
Without that support, promising discoveries may never reach clinical trials or the market. With it, the field could accelerate quickly.
This is not only about scientific innovation; it’s about correcting a long-standing imbalance in reproductive responsibility.
When effective male contraceptive options exist, couples can share decision-making more equally. Women gain greater control over their health, education, and economic futures. In that sense, funding male contraception becomes a lever for broader gender equity.
“Without access to contraceptives for men, it is women — and by extension, their children and families — who ultimately bear the physical, emotional, and economic consequences of unintended pregnancy.”
— Wei Yan M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Director, School of Molecular Biosciences
Director, Center for Reproductive Biology
Washington State University
Signs of progress
Encouragingly, despite modest public and private funding commitments, significant strides are being made in the development of new male contraceptives.
The Parsemus Foundation led the initial development of Vasalgel, a non-hormonal, long-acting, and reversible contraceptive for men. After completing chemical and preclinical studies, the foundation partnered with NEXT Life Sciences to bring Vasalgel to market. NEXT developed devices that accurately deliver Vasalgel, a hydrogel, into the vas deferens, thereby blocking sperm flow. This system, called Plan A, is currently in human clinical trials.
Yan’s team is developing a non-hormonal male contraceptive pill that disables sperm function rather than stopping production. In animal studies, the approach has shown reversibility and strong effectiveness.
Organizations like the Male Contraceptive Initiative are helping move the field forward by funding early-stage research and tracking progress across multiple approaches, some of which are also in clinical trials.
Current male contraception R&D, courtesy of the Male Contraceptive Initiative (click image to enlarge)
Rebalancing responsibility
Still, Yan stresses that scientific advances alone will not solve the problem. Progress depends on sustained funding, clear regulatory pathways, and public recognition of the issue.
In his commentary in Biology of Reproduction, he wrote that “the omission of this research from major funding and policy frameworks represents a serious blind spot.”
Closing that gap, he argues, would do more than bring a new male contraceptive to market. It would help rebalance responsibility for preventing unintended pregnancy — and improve health outcomes for women worldwide.
Read about the Parsemus Foundation’s male contraceptive research project, and see our other news articles on this topic.
