I actually interpreted it as callous to the suffering women endure at first read for some reason. But yeah, there’s very much an element of, “The stakes are higher for women, so they can deal with the side effects,” which is awful.

At first read that came off as callous, but I see your point. I had that thought as well regarding improving female birth control. Where’s the research into a hormone-free pill for women?

It looks like the hormonal NES/T male contraceptive gel passed safety a while back and started phase 2 trials in 2018. It’s already gearing up for phase 3 trials with investors ready to fund this final phase:
https://www.einpresswire.com/article/835140008/contraline-exercises-license-option-for-nes-t-the-first-male-contraceptive-to-reach-late-stage-development

But a hormone-free option is more appealing. I hope YCT-529 makes it to the finish line.

June 29, 2010
Introducing the First Male Birth Control Pill
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/news/a8721/male-birth-control-pill-contraception/

That’s the earliest year I remember hearing about a male birth control pill. There are probably articles from years prior to 2010. Obviously this is a great advancement, but is it reasonable to expect one of these to actually come to market within the next decade?

Edit: Actually, this is discussed in an article linked to by the Scientific American article:

A joke among researchers in the field of male contraception is that a clinically approved alternative to condoms or vasectomy has been five to 10 years away for the past 40 years.