The Curious Case of Male Birth Control

Values Judgments the podcast is available on Apple Music, Spotify, and the Substack app. Subscribe!In 2016, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism published the results of a study on male birth control. In the study, participants were given injections of testosterone and progestogen, then had their sperm levels measured. As the research neared its end, an external review committee shut it down. This detail was picked up by media around the world, and almost all the coverage said the study was stopped because participants couldn’t handle the side effects of the drugs, which happened to be similar to the ones women experience on the pill. But that’s not what happened. The real story raises bigger questions about when trials should be stopped, and who should get to decide.Quick Hits* On Thursday, I had the pleasure of attending the premiere of In My Own Time, a documentary on medical assistance in dying made by Ward 1 Studios and Dying with Dignity Canada. It beautifully portrays the power of people having control over the timing of their deaths, and the ways families, healthcare providers, lawyers, ethicists, and others make it possible. There are upcoming screenings in other Canadian cities (see here), then it will be available online. Go see it!* Patrick Butler has a story for the CBC about limited abortion access in a region of Newfoundland known as ‘the Bible Belt’. In many parts of Canada, people have to travel hundreds of kilometres to have an abortion. This article describes what that means.* Rick Rubin’s interview with John Mayer on Rubin’s podcast Tetragrammaton is the best interview I’ve heard in a long time. I particularly recommend the second half, where they both get so excited about songwriting that they’re finishing each other’s sentences, then Mayer starts writing a song. I know of no one who uses such descriptive metaphors when speaking as John Mayer does.Value Judgments is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit valuejudgments.substack.com