Episode 72: Birth Control of the Future

Detail of a book cover of Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold

How will people make babies and prevent unwanted pregnancies in the future? We look at everything from artificial wombs to birth control for people with sperm. And we imagine how new technologies and changes in social attitudes could radically transform the way we think about human reproduction.

Notes, Citations, & etc.

For this episode, we're using the terms "people with eggs" (PWE) and "people with sperm" (PWS) to discuss reproductive issues.

A 2017 paper from the Journal of Biosocial Science found that PWS mostly use condoms, vasectomy, rhythm method, and withdrawal. They are used 25 percent of the time, regardless of how many times the person is actually having sex.

Christina Wang at UCLA is developing a pill for PWS, and also a gel which interacts with testosterone and makes sperm-havers temporarily infertile

As Emily Willingham told us a few episodes back, the human penis is not built for aggression

Some college campuses have been experimenting with vending machines for the Morning After Pill so PWEs can terminate a pregnancy easily.

One of the two main medication abortion pills just became available as a generic medication called mifepristone.

Movements like #ShoutYourAbortion are helping to remove the stigma around abortion

On Twitter, Imani Gandy's pinned tweet says "abortion is healthcare".

Artificial wombs are a huge part of Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan universe.

We are still grappling with the idea that men can be pregnant, and the notion that people with sperm could become pregnant remains science fiction for now.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Billy Crystal both got pregnant in movies.

Rebecca Onion argued in Slate that we should pay parents for child-rearing, during the pandemic but also in general. This is an idea that goes back decades.

We also need to get rid of the taboo around discussing infertility