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Health

A female scientist’s discovery may lead to the first 'on-demand' male birth control pill

“Men need an option so that the burden of contraception is not on females anymore,” says Dr. Melanie Balbach.

Close up of a man taking a pill.

Even though men have condoms and vasectomies, throughout history, the burden of contraception has ultimately been felt by women because they bear the ultimate responsibility if they become pregnant. To maintain their reproductive freedom, women must take hormone-altering pills, wear patches or insert hormone-filled rings into their vaginas.

They also deal with copper IUDs, shots and spermicide-soaked sponges.

Women also have to manage the cost and hassle of doctors' visits to get their contraception and are at the mercy of the state if they have an unwanted pregnancy. Isn’t it time more men stepped up and took responsibility for contraception?

The good news is that new medical development may provide hope for the countless women who are tired of the pills, IUDs and headaches that come with female contraceptives. The cool thing is that a woman is behind its discovery.

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Trump won. Now what?

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

President-elect Trump ran a campaign of exclusion and fear. So until he shows us otherwise, it's smart to hope for the best but expect the worst when it comes to his governing style.

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There once was a study about male birth control that made everyone freak out.

You know the study I'm talking about, right? The one where a handful of dudes took male birth control, and they got all sad and bloaty, and then most of them quit the whole thing altogether.The one that recently spawned dozens of articles making fun of those dudes' fragile masculinity.

In the study, which ran from 2008 to 2011, 266 monogamously committed guys in 10 different countries tried out a sperm-suppressing injection that looked to be 98% effective. In the end, 7.5% of the guys who took the male birth control dropped out for maybe experiencing side effects similar to women who take birth control. The study was also really tragic because it might have permanently sterilized a guy, and some of the subjects attempted or died from self-harm.

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Family

This comic explains why America needs Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood offers a variety of resources for reproductive and sexual health.

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