‘Deleterious effects’: EPA asked to monitor abortion chemical as pollutant in America’s waters

By Bob Unruh

(Photo by zhang kaiyv on Unsplash)

The evidence is there. Already there is a peer-reviewed study confirming there are “significant levels of mifepristone” in eight out of nine water samplings from three U.S. cities.

So Liberty Counsel Action is calling for the Environmental Protection Agency to add mifepristone and its active metabolites to its list of monitored elements “so public water systems can start collecting nationwide data.”

LCA Public Policy Analyst Abigail Forman already has delivered testimony to EPA officials regarding the risks of mifepristone in public water systems.

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The issue? Mifepristone is the killer chemical used in chemical abortions.

LCA confirms, “research has shown that endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), including steroid hormones, synthetic estrogens and progestins found in oral contraceptives, are present in water supplies. This problem remains an environmental and health concern, especially given the widespread use of contraceptives and the increased prevalence of medication abortion recent years.

“These compounds have a number of deleterious effects on human and animal biology, particularly aquatic animals. Small amounts of these chemicals (parts per trillion) can affect the endocrine system of animals and humans. Progestins, including specifically the anti-progesterone synthetic steroid hormone mifepristone, have been found to have disruptive effects on the fertility and reproduction of fish,. Moreover, further highlighting the potential for environmental toxicity and contamination, the FDA recommends treating any unused mifepristone pills as hazardous waste,” it said.

And removing the contaminant is problematic, as ordinary filtration systems are not particularly effective.

It’s because of the nation’s abortion industry.

“Abortion providers have shifted a large part of their practice from surgical to chemical (medication-induced) abortion. In 2023, 642,700 of the abortions in the US were medication abortions, forming 63% of the total. The first drug given in this type of abortion is the anti-progesterone synthetic steroid hormone mifepristone, or RU-486. Mifepristone is an antagonist of progestational and glucocorticoid hormones. Mifepristone competitively binds to the progesterone receptor, thereby inhibiting the effects of endogenous or exogenous progesterone. The drug is thought to disrupt attachment of the placenta to the uterine lining in early pregnancy. The prostaglandin-like drug misoprostol is administered several days later to induce uterine contractions and preterm labor,” LCA documents.

That means it might end up in water supplies.

The study cited confirmed that, “A statistically significant amount of mifepristone was found in all but one of the nine water sources.”

The tests were done in Blacksburg, Virginia; Austin, Texas; and Carbondale, Illinois.

LCA reported the request was submitted as the EPA considers new drinking water contaminants.

The organization noted that the approximately 700,000 chemical abortions annually deliver pollution to U.S. water systems “through human excretion, aborted human fetal remains, and related medical waste.”

Among those are the active metabolites in mifepristone, LCA said, which is “designed and approved to be lethal in nature by starving a baby in the womb.”

LCA’s submission to the EPA confirmed “studies show even ‘trace amounts’ of endocrine-disrupting substances can have adverse effects on health and fertility.”

“Considering the inability of wastewater plants to completely filter out active metabolites from these abortions, as well as 23,000-75,000 annual sanitary system overflows and up to 425 billion gallons of sewer discharge into the environment, it is probable that the human remains and medical waste from at-home chemical abortions are contaminating American water bodies,” LCA confirmed.

Liberty Counsel Action President John Stemberger said, “The chemical abortion drug mifepristone is being used in most abortions annually where it is being flushed into U.S. wastewater systems. Yet, in its 26 years on the market, there has been no federal environmental monitoring or evaluation of mifepristone’s environmental effects. Mifepristone’s primary action is blocking the vital fertility hormone progesterone. Given the nation’s infertility crisis and the growing concern of the health risks of endocrine disruptors in our water, the drug’s active metabolites warrant immediate monitoring efforts. By naming mifepristone to the Sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, the Environmental Protection Agency can properly evaluate the drug’s environmental and public health implications. We encourage our supporters to also submit comments to the EPA.”

WND previously posted a report from Daily Caller News Foundation that the EPA confirmed it is reviewing related comments from 14 state attorneys general urging the classification of mifepristone as a water contaminant.

“Pharmaceuticals, like Mifepristone, encompass a diverse group of chemicals, including prescription and over the counter drugs,” an EPA spokesperson told the DCNF. “EPA is currently reviewing comments submitted on its draft contaminant candidate list 6 (CCL 6), which lists pharmaceuticals as a group, and human health benchmarks for 374 individual pharmaceuticals that are approved by the FDA and may occur in surface and groundwaters and/or treated drinking water.”

The report noted last year, 19 members of Congress signed a letter asking the EPA to review the pill’s environmental risks. When residual amounts of progesterone blockers are flushed into waterways, prolonged exposure to them could interfere with the fertility of both women and men.

And WND has reported on LCA’s efforts to coordinate opposition to the abortion chemical.

That was when it delivered testimony to the Science Advisory Board of the EPA recommending mifepristone be given the designation so it can be monitored and evaluated.

 

Bob Unruh

Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is currently a news editor for the WND News Center, and also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially. Read more of Bob Unruh's articles here.


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