SEATTLE - The University of Washington Medical Center is working on a birth control breakthrough -- a contraceptive pill for men.

Dr. John Amory is looking for a few good men to help him create a birth control pill for guys. Test subjects don't get to have sex for trials; it's their sperm that's tested.

Guys don't have a lot of options when it comes to contraception: condoms, vasectomies, or their partner.

"Women do carry the undue burden or unfair share of current contraceptives," Amory said.

For 30 years, UW researchers have worked to create a male pill and they think they're about five years away.

The test subjects put testosterone in their body with the goal of suppressing sperm, but it's a difficult task because men produce 1,000 sperm every second. Whereas with women, there's just one egg a month to control.

Side effects for now include changes in muscle mass, mood, and libido, but the idea is drawing support from women. Still, there's the matter of trust -- would men remember to take a pill every day?

"The studies show women don't trust man to take a pill but women in committed relations would trust their partner to take a contraceptive on a regular basis," said Dr. Mara Roth.

Currently, female contraceptives account for two thirds of the current contraception in United States, and some men say that could change if they had more options than abstinence, a sheath, or a snip.

Healthy men between 18 and 50 can enter the intensive study and receive $1,300 if they complete it. For more information call (206) 616-1818.