The Haystack

The student news site of Wheat Ridge High School

The student news site of Wheat Ridge High School

The Haystack

The student news site of Wheat Ridge High School

The Haystack

The Switch That Could Prevent Pregnancy

The+Switch+That+Could+Prevent+Pregnancy
© Bimek

By: Alyssah Shear

Females are usually the ones using birth control to prevent pregnancy, but what if you could give the responsibility over to your male partner?

Within the last couple weeks, a carpenter named Clemens Bimek created a device (Bimek SLV) to temporarily stop sperm flow.

Bimek got the idea of this product around 20 years ago. This new invention is a lot like a light switch under the skin by the male’s scrotum. The Bimek SLV has only been tested on one person as of Jan. 10, 2016 (that being Bimek himself)  but Bimek is also trying to get 25 men to test the product for him.

 Although the surgery can not be reversed, the male can simply press the skin where the device is implanted and turn the sperm flow either on or off. Many males are concerned that the switch could cause problems with the production and health of their sperm. In fact, Wolfgang Bühmann, spokesman for the Professional Association of German Urologists believes that the scarring from the surgery could prevent the stopping of sperm flow causing sperm to still be released. Bühmann also believes that if the switch is closed for too long it could cause the valves to become clogged.

Although neither of Bühmann’s concerns have not been proven, Bimeks’ original surgery went well, but he found that the switch was hard to turn on and off. After a few more surgeries and fixes to the device, he said that it actually worked quite well.

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Although the device is not yet released due to some flaws it still contains, it is said to be put onto the market in 2018. The product is expected to be a large success and make a decent profit once it has its flaws fixed.

 

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