Key facts
- Anti-abortion activists are using a new study claiming to detect mifepristone in U.S. waterways as a tool to push for restrictions on abortion pills.
- The study, released by Students for Life of America, purports to show "significant levels of mifepristone" in water samples from Austin, Texas; Blacksburg, Virginia; and Carbondale, Illinois.
- Environmental experts have criticized the study's methodology, calling its conclusions "misleading" and "poor quality."
- Activists are presenting the findings to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as it reviews water contamination rules and to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as it reviews the drug's safety.
- The tactic represents a broader strategy by anti-abortion groups to employ diverse methods, including environmental law, to achieve their goals.
Anti-abortion activists are employing a new strategy, utilizing environmental protection laws and a controversial study to push for restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone. Students for Life of America, a prominent anti-abortion group, released a study this week claiming to have detected "significant levels of mifepristone" in the waterways of Austin, Texas; Blacksburg, Virginia; and Carbondale, Illinois.
Despite the study's authors acknowledging a lack of proof that the detected mifepristone impacts human health, livestock, or the environment, the paper warns of potential "deleterious effects on human and animal biology." This approach marks a shift for some conservatives towards environmental activism, as federal rules allowing telehealth prescriptions and mail delivery of mifepristone have increased access to the drug, circumventing state bans.
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, stated that the group is employing a comprehensive strategy against chemical abortion, stating, "It’s time to press go and pull all the levers." While a single study may not realign scientific consensus, activists hope it will influence regulatory bodies and elected officials. The study, published as a preprint in the journal Issues in Law and Medicine, has faced criticism from environmental experts who deem its methodology flawed and its conclusions misleading.
Nevertheless, the theory that at-home abortions could contaminate water supplies has gained traction on the right, being cited in congressional hearings and state legislation. The activists are now using the new data to pressure the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is reviewing water contamination rules, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is reviewing the drug's safety and regulations around its telehealth prescription and mail delivery. The EPA confirmed receipt of the data, while the FDA did not comment on whether it would consider the paper.
Students for Life is also collaborating with other movements and briefing Republican members of Congress and state legislatures. Experts suggest that while this study might not be decisive on its own, it contributes to the broader anti-abortion movement's multi-pronged approach to achieving its objectives, similar to the strategy that led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.