Revolutionary New Male Birth Control: An Ultrasound Bath For The 'Jewels'

Birth control has always been a hot topic in our country, but our most modern and effective modes of contraception weren’t actually legal for unmarried people until nineteen-seventy-freaking-two. And throughout the thousands of years of preceding development and usage of different types of birth control, women have been given the onus of responsibility of contraception.

Think about it: sure, there are condoms and spermicide, but without prior planning and/or purchase, what good are those options? Every long-standing contraceptive that isn’t a one-time deal falls on our shoulders as women: diaphragms, ‘The Pill,’ hormonal implants, et cetera. There is no male birth control, at least not in the same manner as the type for women. It’s mostly been on us.

Add in the fact that largely accessible, women’s birth control for the masses only became legal in 1965 … when we abolished an Act that actually made it a federal offense to sell, advertise, or even mail birth control (and sex toys, for that matter). Even sending doctor’s prescriptions, illustrations, or pamphlets on the topic via the Postal Service was illegal as little as 56 years ago (mind blown).

Considering these facts, it becomes painfully clear how outdated the United States’ patriarchal approach to birth control development, usage, and lawfulness is. That’s why it’s kind of exciting to share with you a revolutionary method of contraception that’s snagged the coveted James Dyson Award of Engineering: it puts the ball(s… wink, wink) in men’s courts from now on.

COSO was designed and manufactured by German engineering student, Rebecca Weiss. Weiss was searching for an alternative to birth control pills after she had been informed the hormone she had been consistently taking was correlated to a pre-cancerous diagnosis of her cervix. As a result of her personal trials and within her professional endeavors, she birthed COSO: an impermanent, ultrasound-based method of male contraception that is entirely reversible.

At the base of it all (penis pun intended), a small ultrasound machine is filled with a set amount of water that is pre-determined in a doctor’s appointment. That amount is based on testicle size (seriously, the bigger the balls, the less hot water you’re in. The jokes write themselves!).

After an initial medical consultation, users are encouraged to take their COSO contraption home to benefit from it in the comfort of their own abode, and as frequently as recommended by their doctor.

Once home, an intended amount of water is placed in the base and heated up to a specific degree, which is warm enough to temporarily staunch spermatogenesis. Users then take a timed ‘ball bath’ (of which length is also discussed with your doctor). And voila! Post-bath results is a tidy, sperm-less sac.

To top it off, effects of the machine can last for up to six months between uses. Another amazing factor is that although the contraption is new, ultrasound usage in male birth control has been studied for over 40 years and seems relatively safe.

Relatedly, the largest issue with male ultrasound contraception since its inception has not been practicality or use: the biggest hurdle has been getting men to venture in for their doctor’s consultation and equipment. The very same type of consultation appointments women have had to make and keep for decades in order to utilize doctor-approved contraception.

Maybe making sure to include the fact that a ball bath is part of the deal will work to sway them? One can only hope.