Let’s center reproductive justice and bodily autonomy for all people

As reproductive politics in the United States have become increasingly polarized the Trump Administration has floated unconventional strategies to raise the U S birthrate awarding medals to women who have six or more children and prioritizing married individuals or parents for prestigious Fulbright fellowships But at the same time crucial developments in male contraception are poised to shift the conversation Researchers at the University of Minnesota have created a non-hormonal oral contraceptive for men that is nearing human clinical trials As researchers studying attitudes towards male contraception we know that this innovation presents both opportunities and challenges We must be careful in how we think about new methods especially in this fraught political surroundings In order to ensure that male contraceptive innovation serves as a tool for reproductive autonomy rather than a van for state control we must center reproductive justice and bodily autonomy for all people The reproductive justice framework as defined by SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective offers essential guidance It affirms the right to bodily autonomy the right to have children the right not to have children and the right to parent in safe and supportive environments These principles should shape the maturation messaging and implementation of male contraceptives Contraceptive technologies do not exist in isolation they reflect and respond to broader social political and historical forces Various of our modern contraceptive methods were developed with the goal of controlling populations both domestically and abroad Pronatalist policies such as those suggested by the Trump administration which promote childbirth through incentives or pressure often frame reproduction as a civic duty rather than a personal choice This framing can erode bodily autonomy particularly when reproductive decisions are shaped by economic pressures political agendas or moral expectations By contrast male birth control has the likely to expand autonomy redistributing contraceptive responsibility and giving all people regardless of gender more agency to decide if and when to have children Madeline Mahoney Our up-to-date research finds that there is important citizens interest in new male birth control options especially among those who feel excluded or underserved by current methods Notably a quarter of people with vasectomies surveyed expressed that they would have preferred a reversible male contraceptive over undergoing sterilization via vasectomy These findings suggest that male contraception could not only improve contraceptive equity but also offer a welcome alternative for people seeking long-term but non-permanent options to manage their fertility Demographic shifts including an aging U S population are commonly cited as a rationale for pronatalist policies while others advocate for limiting reproduction due to the context dilemma These concerns are real and complex But when populace discourse swings swiftly between promoting and discouraging reproduction especially in a country with a documented history of reproductive coercion we must be aware of the prospective for harm in the dissemination of male contraceptive methods Asha Hassan As male contraceptive technologies move closer to widespread use we have an opportunity to improve equity in contraceptive responsibility and help men s reproductive autonomy More importantly we can expand the reproductive freedom of everyone ensuring that decisions about fertility remain in the hands of individuals not institutions If developed and implemented with care male contraception can be a powerful tool for advancing bodily autonomy reproductive justice and shared responsibility in family planning Madeline Mahoney is a research specialist at the University of Minnesota Curative School s Collective for Reproductive Vitality Research Justice Dr Asha Hassan is an assistant professor with the same affiliation Previously both worked at Planned Parenthood North Central States and received funding from the Male Contraceptive Initiative to survey male birth control attitudes The views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of their employers or any agencies that fund their work The post Let s center reproductive justice and bodily autonomy for all people appeared first on MinnPost