Like Richard Hammond said, if I was a woman, I'd be pregnant a lot.

I'm terrible at remembering to take pills. Maybe it's because they're pretty low stakes?

It's not hard to set up nearly fault proof routines and reminders.

For example, I have a pill container for the days of the week. Pills go directly into my pocket and don't come out unless they're going in my mouth (almost always during breakfast.) The pocket to mouth routine makes sure I don't set them down somewhere and the pill box gives proof later that I took them.

It’s not hard _for you_.

Only tangentially related really but almost all of the variance I have ever observed in ability to remember things like this is just trying at all to use a mnemonic or routine.

The above routine is a specific practice to remember something — I basically think it would be effective for anyone that actually did it, and almost all non-adherence would be at step zero.

This is why it won’t succeed. The person getting pregnant is going to want some proof that the contraception is being used properly. And that means something that they can see or something that they do themselves.

Exactly. I'm confident women worry a lot more about getting pregnant than men worry about getting someone pregnant.

You don't think men worry about having a kid with someone they don't want to, being responsible for 18 years of child support, making hard decisions about whether they want to be involved in the kid's life, etc.?

Men are terrified of getting someone pregnant. At least women have a choice as to what to do about it. If they don't want to keep it, they don't, assuming the law permits it or the law is easy to get around. Men don't ever have that choice.

Anecdotal polling from my peer group strongly suggests you are wrong. Every guy I know would rather be responsible for taking an equivalent pill than the woman taking it. Every single one of us has experienced one or more women who missed taking the pill a day here or there and those women weren't that concerned about it. As an add-on (depending on jurisdiction), women have the backup of the abortion decision whereas men do not.

That's a solid argument for why a male birth control pill won't substitute for a female birth control pill.

But I don't think it needs to in order to succeed. For women, the stakes are higher. For men, they're still high enough. There's no reason both people can't be on the pill. Yes, it's a bit redundant, but when your goal is safety, redundancy is usually good.

"Trust me, babe, you won't get pregnant because I'm on the (male) pill!" is going to be tough sell in the bedroom. But "guys, control your own fate with a once-daily pill!" will be an easy sell in the inevitable TV ads.

I would agree for casual sex, but I don't think this stays true for committed relationships.

Do you ask woman for proof that they took their pills properly? Do they photo proof it daily to you?

I don't want to get someone pregnant. If I can take a pill to largely ensure this is the case, I'm going to take a pill.

Hell, if I'm engaging in casual sex, I'm going to take both the pill and wear a condom. I've had condoms break and not notice it immediately - thankfully never at the point where I've reached climax, but I could see it happening.

It's a mouse and NHP (non-human primate) study

I know plenty women who also forget to take it every day.