Holy crap, I was just pointed to this by Violetta Vane, who referred to it as “The Handmaid’s Tale 2012.” And she’s not wrong.
ILU-486 isn’t a romance, but I think anyone who reads romance should read this short story anyway. It’s a story about being a woman when it’s hard to be a woman.
This near-future, not-too-unbelievable world springs from some of the very scary legislation being proposed in both Virginia and Pennsylvania right now. It doesn’t have a happily ever after. Instead, it shows how some of us have to work for our ever afters to stay happy, and how we can’t take it for granted that there will always be heroes/heroines to save us. Let’s hope it never comes to pass.
More than that, let’s work to make sure of it.
Ruth Diaz Writes 
Thank you so much!