Baltimore, Md., May 7, 2009 / 01:06 am
Chinese researchers have reportedly developed an injectable male contraceptive that has few side effects. However, an ethicist explained to CNA, if the drug is going to be used as a contraceptive, then its use would violate Catholic teaching because "contraception that interferes with conception is intrinsically evil."
The reversible contraceptive is a combination of testosterone in tea seed oil, All Headline News reports.
According to a report published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, the study involved 1,045 Chinese men between 20 and 45 who had already fathered at least one child. The men were injected with the formula for 30 months, during which only one percent of the study participants fathered a child.
No serious side effects were reported and reproductive function returned to normal levels in all but two participants, All Headline News says. Dr. Yi-Qun Gu, a researcher of the drug with the National Research Institute for Family Planning in Beijing, said more testing is required to determine the contraceptive’s effects on cardiovascular, prostate and behavioral health.