A new wave of legislation in Arizona, Idaho, Maine, West Virginia, and Wyoming seeks to restrict abortion pill access over claims that the drugs could contaminate drinking water.
The Strategy: Using Environmental Laws Against Abortion Pills
The proposed bills would require patients to return expelled fetal tissue in medical waste bags, preventing the flushing of fetal remains into wastewater systems. This unprecedented approach is being championed by Students for Life of America, an anti-abortion group leveraging environmental laws to restrict medication abortion.
“Environmental law has teeth,” said Kristi Hamrick, the group’s vice president, at their annual conference. “And, frankly, I’m for using the devil’s own tools against them.”
The group claims that trace amounts of mifepristone, a key abortion drug, are appearing in waterways, posing potential risks to endangered species, livestock, and human fertility. While they have yet to provide peer-reviewed scientific evidence, they plan to publish their findings later this year.
Targeting RFK Jr. and Federal Action
Beyond state laws, Students for Life is preparing lawsuits against:
- Individual doctors prescribing abortion pills
- Drug manufacturers Danco and GenBioPro
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
They are also pressuring Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, who pledged during his confirmation hearing to investigate abortion pill safety.
“There’s the potential for hundreds of billions of dollars in damages if I ‘Erin Brockovich’ this case,” said Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins.
Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, has expressed concerns about hormone-disrupting chemicals in water, a stance that could make him more receptive to these claims.
Scientists: No Evidence Abortion Pills Harm the Water Supply
Environmental health experts, including the FDA, dismiss these claims as scientifically unfounded:
- Wastewater treatment plants are highly effective at filtering mifepristone out of water.
- The FDA rejected Students for Life’s petition, stating it offered “only conjecture” with no evidence of harm to humans or the environment.
- Tracey Woodruff, an environmental health professor at UCSF, argues that industrial farming, not human waste, is the primary source of hormonal pollution in waterways.
“All kinds of pharmaceuticals are in the drinking water supply,” she said. “This isn’t about water safety. It’s about controlling women’s bodies.”
What’s Next?
With RFK Jr. potentially leading federal health policy, the abortion pill battle could take a new turn. If these environmental-based restrictions gain traction, they could serve as a blueprint for further anti-abortion efforts across Republican-led states.
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