From a reader:

I thought you’d be interested in a fairly recent development regarding the drug Accutane (and its generics).  I was treated with Accutane when I was seventeen, but genetics has blessed me with the opportunity for another go-round at 23.  During my first course of treatment with Accutane, which causes severe birth defects, I was treated to a stern lecture from my dermatologist, who told me that I shouldn’t be having sex at my age, and that he sincerely hoped that this would not be an issue, but if I was sexually active, I needed to tell him so I could begin taking birth control pills.

Now, thanks to a government program called iPledge, I am required to submit to two pregnancy tests and to begin taking some form of contraceptive medication (in addition to a second method of birth control, which I am on the honor system to use).  I find it somewhat ridiculous that I can have an abortion in the ninth month of pregnancy, but must jump through all of these hoops (despite my assurances to my doctor that pregnancy will NOT be an issue!) to avoid conceiving a child who might have a birth defect!  Apparently my right to choose what goes on in my uterus doesn’t apply in this matter…