{"id":35120,"date":"2025-10-13T17:11:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T17:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/?p=35120"},"modified":"2025-10-13T17:16:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T17:16:11","slug":"epa-investigating-if-abortion-pills-are-polluting-americas-drinking-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/epa-investigating-if-abortion-pills-are-polluting-americas-drinking-water\/","title":{"rendered":"EPA Investigating if Abortion Pills are Polluting America&#8217;s Drinking Water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\"><strong><em>By:  Steven Ertelt, originally published <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifenews.com\/2025\/10\/10\/epa-investigating-if-abortion-pills-are-polluting-americas-drinking-water\/?cmid=00fdbe0c-e985-4fa2-99d7-6c794508505f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">October 10, 2025, LifeNews.com<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The Environmental Protection Agency&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/10\/10\/us\/politics\/epa-abortion-wastewater.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has launched an internal review<\/a>&nbsp;to determine if traces of abortion pills like mifepristone are contaminating America\u2019s wastewater and drinking water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Leading pro-life groups warn the chemicals&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifenews.com\/2025\/06\/26\/abortion-pills-are-polluting-americas-drinking-water-causing-miscarriages-and-stillbirths\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">could be causing miscarriages and stillbirths in unsuspecting communities.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The probe, directed by senior EPA officials over the summer, stems from a June 18 letter signed by 25 Republican members of Congress, including Sen. James Lankford and Rep. Josh Brecheen, both of Oklahoma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The lawmakers urged EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to investigate potential pollution from the drug, questioning: \u201cAre there existing E.P.A.-approved methods for detecting mifepristone and its active metabolites in water supplies?\u201d and \u201cIf not, what resources are needed to develop these testing methods?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">EPA scientists, specializing in chemical detection, informed officials that no approved methods currently exist but new ones could be developed if warranted, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The request marks a highly unusual intervention, as the agency typically focuses on broader contaminants like PFAS chemicals rather than specific pharmaceuticals. But pro-life groups hailed the inquiry as a critical step toward exposing the hidden environmental toll of chemical abortions, which now account for nearly two-thirds of all U.S. abortions, killing millions of babies. They argue that mifepristone, a potent progesterone blocker, and the remains of aborted babies are flushed into sewage systems, evading proper medical waste protocols and polluting downstream water supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201c[M]ifepristone is a potent progesterone blocker that disrupts hormonal balance in pregnant women to induce abortion. This raises questions about the drug\u2019s potential endocrine-disrupting effects when present in drinking water supplies,\u201d the congressional letter stated. \u201cIf residual amounts of the drug and its metabolites persist in wastewater, prolonged exposure could potentially interfere with a person\u2019s fertility, regardless of sex.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"699\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Abortion-Pills-polluting-water.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Abortion-Pills-polluting-water.jpg 699w, https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Abortion-Pills-polluting-water-300x174.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 699px) 100vw, 699px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Lankford amplified those fears during an interview on \u201cWashington Watch with Tony Perkins,\u201d noting: \u201cAs gross as it sounds, much of our sewage water ends up being filtered\u201d through wastewater treatment plants and becomes \u201cdrinking water downstream. But that process doesn\u2019t take out everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">He added: \u201cPFAS [per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances] \u2026 medications, or other chemicals are often still in the system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cWhat happens when it gets recycled back into our drinking water? Does that affect future fertility? Can that cause miscarriages? We don\u2019t know because that\u2019s never been studied.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The EPA itself acknowledged last September that up to 10% of contaminants may survive two stages of wastewater treatment, a vulnerability that pro-life researchers say allows mifepristone residues to linger. Sanitation officials have documented fully formed pre-born babies in treatment facilities across South Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and Mississippi, underscoring what advocates call a systemic disregard for human remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">John Stemberger, president of Liberty Counsel Action, described the scale of the crisis in an interview on \u201cWashington Watch,\u201d estimating that \u201c40 tons of aborted babies\u2019 bodies\u201d become \u201cmedical waste \u2014 going into toilets, going into sewer systems, going into septic tanks, and ultimately going into the water systems that process our drinking water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">In a 78-page report coauthored by his group, Stemberger charged: \u201cabortion providers issuing chemical abortion pills have been able to use wastewater treatment plants as their de-facto medical waste facilities for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The report contends that this practice violates the Clean Water Act, which defines pollutants to include \u201cbiological materials\u201d and \u201cmedical waste\u201d such as \u201chuman blood and blood products; pathological wastes\u201d and \u201cbody parts,\u201d as well as the National Environmental Policy Act, which mandates environmental impact statements for actions with \u201creasonably foreseeable significant effect on the quality of the human environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">No such studies were conducted prior to FDA approvals of mifepristone in 2000, 2016 or 2022, the report notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America praised the congressional push in a statement to The Washington Stand, thanking the lawmakers who \u201cdemand evaluation of the global consequences of the reckless deregulation and lack of testing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\"><strong><em>Steven Ertelt is the founder and Editor of LifeNews.com, and has provided the pro-life community with news via the internet since 1993. He also serves as the President of Colorado Citizens for Life<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\"><strong><em>Image:  LifeSiteNews.com.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By: Steven Ertelt, originally published October 10, 2025, LifeNews.com The Environmental Protection Agency&nbsp;has launched an internal review&nbsp;to determine if traces of abortion pills like mifepristone are contaminating America\u2019s wastewater and drinking water. Leading pro-life groups warn the chemicals&nbsp;could be causing miscarriages and stillbirths in unsuspecting communities. The probe, directed by senior EPA officials over the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35121,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>EPA Investigating if Abortion Pills are Polluting America&#039;s Drinking Water - Cincinnati Right to Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/epa-investigating-if-abortion-pills-are-polluting-americas-drinking-water\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EPA Investigating if Abortion Pills are Polluting America&#039;s Drinking Water - Cincinnati Right to Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: Steven Ertelt, originally published October 10, 2025, LifeNews.com The Environmental Protection Agency&nbsp;has launched an internal review&nbsp;to determine if traces of abortion pills like mifepristone are contaminating America\u2019s wastewater and drinking water. Leading pro-life groups warn the chemicals&nbsp;could be causing miscarriages and stillbirths in unsuspecting communities. 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