#if i did my math right thats 175000 unplanned babies

[smallswingshoes]

Your local pharmacy technician here.

The medication is called Isotretinoin, aka Zenatane, Amnesteem, or Claravis.

It can cause severe birth defects, which is why it's required for patients to be on birth control if they have a uterus and to be repeatedly educated on the risks of the medication. To be fair, men on the medication also have to be repeatedly educated on not having unprotected sex while on it.

It has, iirc, a 30% chance of causing birth defects in infants. You have to understand that this is extremely high for any medication on the market. Compare that to fetal alcohol syndrome, which, if I did my math right, is something like a 7% chance of happening when drinking alcohol while pregnant, although numbers vary. That's a significant difference.

There are many, many medications that could, theoretically, potentially cause problems for a baby if taken during pregnancy, but they don't have a THIRTY PERCENT CHANCE of causing birth defects.

I'm seeing people in the notes calling this dystopian, but, frankly, the ipledge system requiring people to prevent pregnancy while on this medication is the only way this medication could have made it to the market. It's nearly a 1 in 3 chance of causing birth defects.

Part of the reason there are these measures put in place is because, on a grand scale, you just can't take "I pinkie promise" from patients as any kind of guarantee. You just can't.

I know it's incredibly frustrating, but imo the solution is for more medications for acne to be available and/or more birth controls to be available so that there are more options.

It would be criminally irresponsible to put isotretinoin on the market without some sort of stopgap in place.

If it was really about "but what about the babies?", believe me, there would be so many more medications attached to the ipledge system. It would be a logistical nightmare and impractical to boot, even ignoring the moral implications.

Please believe me when I say there's a good reason isotretinoin has the ipledge system. It literally wouldn't be available at all without it. I am directing this message less to anon and more to conspiratorial commenters on this post.

You know what medical pet peeve, I kind understand it but I still find it stupid and hate it. There's this medication I wanna try for my skin, but I can't use it unless I use birth control. I forgot the English name, sorry. Literally I cannot get it unless I'm on birth control and actively taking it, even though I don't fuck, I don't do casual sex and I am not dating, I'm completely soloing life. Ok? I would also have to piss in a cup each month to prove I'm not pregnant. I can't get the medication unless I take birth control because when pregnant it's bad for the fetus. A fetus I'll not have because I don't fuck, and have no interest in it, and I also in my current position and maybe future, just do not want children.

I can't fucking take birth control because all of the ones I tried leave me completely destroyed mentally and physically, I just don't have the body for any birth control. They make literally everything worse, bloating, nausea, periods, weight fluctuation, itchy for some reason, one even made me leak and then my breasts got so badly inflammed wearing a shirt was agony, etc. The medication I want to take isn't the best for general health either: Dry skin, liver, some other shit. I fucking hate it, I either have to just not do the medication, or I have to completely ruin my health in two ways because of a pregnancy that is just is not going to happen because I don't fuck.

I am guessing this is because of people lying about their sexual activity or some shit, but for the love of everything, now I can't get the medication that would actual improve my quality of life because of these people. I think what got me the most is that the Doctor I spoke to said that even if a woman doesn't have the ability to have children she would still need to take birth control and piss in a cup.

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