Many forces have slowed the development of better contraceptives for men.
It seems as if every few months the press heralds a scientific breakthrough that could lead to a new male contraceptive—in five to 10 years. But then the years go by and the promised contraceptive never appears. Why? What's the holdup?
Maybe one problem is that people have been using the wrong tool for the job. Chemists in the 1950s changed society forever when they figured out how to shut off female ovulation with synthetic hormones. So you'd think we'd just have to repeat the trick with men, right?
