Why I'll NEVER trust a man who says he's had the contraceptive jab... and neither should any girl



Wonderful creatures: But can men be trusted to take the contraceptive injection



Men are wonderful creatures, but they are not to be relied upon. Even some of life's simplest things are apparently beyond them.

Remembering your favourite flower is one of them; washing the dishes before the sink is overflowing with dirty ones is another - as is doing the housework, without constantly complaining about how much they do around the house; and multi-tasking, unless it involves watching football, drinking beer, shouting at the TV, then watching the game all over again on Match Of The Day.



And, above all, you certainly cannot rely on a man for contraception.

So the story this week that a new male contraceptive jab could transform women's lives, free them from the tyranny of unwanted pregnancies and mean men taking equal responsibility over contraception, is simply absurd.

It just won't happen. Does anyone seriously think men will be lining up to have a monthly injection which halts their sperm production? This is fundamental to how men judge their masculinity.

Even if you look at the medical research programme that put this jab to the test there are clear signs of the problems.

The men who completed the trial had the injection for two-and-a-half years. Their women partners were in the peak childbearing age of 18 to 38.

Just over one in 100 conceived, about the same rate as when women are on the Pill. But of the 1,000 men who took part, almost a third dropped out - and they were being paid to have the injections. And bear in mind that this male contraceptive depends on the man administering the injection himself into his buttocks - nothing as simple as just taking a pill.

Without being too indelicate, there's also the question of proof. How on earth can a woman know that the man really has had the injection?



Imagine the scenario: boy meets girl, and, like so many young women now, she doesn't know the man particularly well.

As they strip and get into bed, she asks him if he has 'brought anything'. He says: 'Don't worry, I've had the jab.'

What woman in her right mind would believe that? At least you can see a condom with your own eyes. Or would they issue sperm-free certificates for men to carry around with their driving licences to prove they're up to date with their jabs?

But most important of all, you can't buck human nature. Deep inside every man who still has his own hair and teeth, and even those who don't, is a sexual predator who will have sex anywhere, anytime, if he can.

Of course, for many of them the sexual encounters are with their wives. But wife or no wife, the urge for sex with other women never leaves them. And I'm sorry to say that sometimes they will fib to get what they want.

The first teenage girl I knew who got pregnant was at my school in Australia - Penrhos Methodist Ladies' College. Ladies in name if not always in deed. We knew boys only had one thing on their minds, and they'd lie and cheat to get it.

So when Susannah, aged just 15, was found sobbing in the loo, we stood around in utter astonishment. Nasty girls knew how to protect themselves. Nice girls didn't get pregnant because they knew the risks.



Worry: What if a man has forgotten to inject himself but still has sex?



'But how?' we cried. 'How did it happen?'

Pouring out her breaking little heart, Susannah began: 'We were in the back of his Ford pick-up. . .' 'No, why did you let him?' 'He said he was impotent - at first I thought he said 'important' and I said I already knew that, but then he said: 'No, impotent', that he'd had these tests and he couldn't get me pregnant.'

Never mind teenagers not knowing the difference between 'impotent' and 'infertile', we'd been warned against the old 'I shoot blanks' line from an early age. And the one about not needing a condom because he knew when to withdraw. Or that you couldn't get pregnant if you did it standing up.

Predatory men will say anything when they want sex, and no feminisation of the male of the species, no amount of getting in touch with their feelings, no degrees of respecting women, has changed that.

So why would any woman believe a man when he says he's had the male jab? And if sensible women won't believe him, there is little advantage to him having the injections!

The other major problem with male contraception today is there is no longer any stigma attached to 'getting a girl pregnant'. There was a time when the shame and responsibility were so great, a boy would have to marry the girl to make a decent woman of her. That was a powerful form of contraception in itself.

Then feminism came and went, abortions became increasingly available - as did the Pill - and girls started bringing up children on their own. But at least the fathers were still expected to pay towards the upkeep of their kids.

Now we have an entire youth underclass who will never get a job and will live their lives on benefits. Not only will the father not have to pay for the care of the woman or children, they will also stand a better chance of getting a council house.

The state rewards you for having babies and society does not judge.



Can they be trusted? Some of the simplest things in life are apparently beyond them



In such a climate, there is even less incentive for the man to take the injection. Why bother if he faces no sanction if he gets a woman pregnant?

More sinister still is the effect this male contraceptive jab would have on young women and their fertility, given the current explosion of sexually transmitted diseases.

Diseases such as chlamydia are spreading rapidly and can leave women unable to have children. At least with a condom the girl is offered some degree of protection from disease. But with this jab, there would be no such protection.

The Pill definitely emancipated women, because it put control of pregnancy in their hands and theirs alone. It changed the world, mostly for the better.

It satisfied a woman's natural desire to take control of her body, to no longer be at the mercy of a man's passion - or her own - and the consequences of unwanted pregnancies.

Being able to control when and with whom we have children is one of the greatest liberators in women's history, and we would not give it up lightly.

I have few doubts these jabs could work in a faithful, loving, trusting, long-term relationship, provided the man has no issues about his masculinity, no fear of needles and no concern over his fertility.

Now, how many men do you know like that?