Antis argue that abortion meds pollute water
A 1996 FDA study disputes the assertion
One of the stranger stories that has been missed by most in the media is the push by Republicans to classify abortion medication as a water pollutant.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Oklahoma Rep. Josh Brecheen, and their colleagues sent a letter to the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Michael Regan, inquiring if the agency has researched the environmental effects of mifepristone. The letter explains their reasoning.
The full impact of mifepristone has never been sufficiently studied. When the FDA approved the drug in 2000, it relied on a 1996 environmental assessment that failed to consider that human fetal remains and the drug’s active metabolites would be making their way into wastewater systems across the U.S. Any studies that have been conducted in the past should be repeated and updated to reflect the fact that the drug is far more prevalent today than it was three decades ago. In addition, the EPA should study the impact of the “byproducts” of mifepristone, such as the placental tissue, fetal remains, and active metabolites that are being flushed into our nation’s wastewater system.
Environmental protection efforts are necessary to counter the potential harm that chemical abortion drugs are creating for our people, wildlife, and ecosystems. The American people deserve to know the negative effects caused by chemical abortion drugs. In addition to our request that the EPA provide a full assessment regarding mifepristone contamination in our wastewater and drinking water systems, we ask for your response to the following questions no later than July 15, 2024. Please provide a separate response to each question, rather than a narrative response.
Students for Life, an antiabortion movement, pushed that argument In one of the amicus briefs filed in the abortion lawsuit before the Supreme Court over mifepristone. They argued that it could hurt fish and game and cited the Endangered Species Act as one reason mifepristone shouldn’t be allowed until further study.
I poked around the internet to see if there had been any studies. I found one relevant document worth sharing. In 1996, the Food & Drug Administration studied the environmental impacts of abortion medication. It found no significant one. It’s included below.