Women discussing birth control options often consider "the pill." Men may soon be considering what could be dubbed "the shot."

New research suggests that a shot inhibiting production of sperm could someday be a possible addition to condoms on the list of male contraceptive options.

A study conducted by Dr. Michael O'Rand, professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discovered that a shot of the protein eppin made it difficult for male monkeys to impregnate female monkeys.

"They were tested for fertility by mating with three different females," O'Rand said. "None of them were able to produce offspring."

The study, which appeared in the Nov. 12 issue of the magazine Science, detailed how the eppin shot stopped sperm production in the nine monkeys immunized.

"There's no reason to believe it wouldn't work in humans," O'Rand said. He said humans should exhibit the same reaction to the protein shot as monkeys because of their similar genetic makeup.

He said the potential for a nonhormonal male contraceptive for human males, like the protein shot, was his hope.

Before the effects of such male contraceptives for humans can be contemplated, O'Rand said, there is much to be learned about the reaction in monkeys.

Douglas Colvard, associate director of the organization CONRAD, which funded O'Rand's study, said there is still a lot of work to be done before such a contraceptive could be used by humans. CONRAD is a group that funds studies on contraceptive research.

"Demonstrating that the shot is a feasible target in actual humans — that's not a small step," Colvard said.

O'Rand said the organization will have to work to get funding before toxicology and safety tests can be conducted for human use of the shot.

Research like O'Rand's that explores nonhormonal contraceptive options for men is rare, according to Colvard. He says hormonal male contraceptives are much further along in development.

"The hormonal approaches by and large have been used in women for years, so it's a matter of finding suitable regimens that will work successfully in men," Colvard said.

Provided that male hormonal contraceptives or nonhormonal ones like O'Rand's shot prove effective, some people are unsure whether they will catch on as popular methods of birth control.

"I think men would be apprehensive about the procedure, especially until they know what the side effects will be," said Andrew Mark, sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Amanda Becker, sophomore in the College of Communication, agrees that the drug could be a frightening option for some.

Richard Fehring, professor in the College of Nursing and director of Marquette's Institute for Natural Family Planning, doubts males would be interested in putting contraceptives in their bodies at all.

"It's interesting that we expect women to put powerful chemicals in their bodies, but men won't," Fehring said.

He added some men may use new contraceptives thinking they could just have sex whenever they wanted, which could lead to unforeseen long-term effects.

"Messing with nature there's always some kind of reaction," he said.