July 24, 2026
“A study inspired by Students for Life’s clean water advocacy shows that our concerns are valid. In three cities where water was tested, the active metabolites of mifepristone, the Chemical Abortion Pill, were in the water. We need the EPA to nationalize this examination, especially in light of so many struggling with infertility,” said Students for Life’s Kristan Hawkins. “You don’t have to be pro-life to want crystal clear drinking water.”
CLICK HERE to read the study at Issues in Law & Medicine, a Journal of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (JAHM), titled: “Anti-Progesterone in Environmental Water”
WASHNGTON D.C. (07-24-2026) – Students for Life of America (SFLA) President Kristan Hawkins announced today that a peer-reviewed study, published in JAHM is already at work, equipping those evaluating the impacts of chemical abortion pills, the number one method of abortion in America and the world. The timing of publication for this report coincides with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) current evaluation of mifepristone for inclusion on “Safe Drinking Water Act.” However, the report’s usefulness will extend to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where citizen petitions will be refiled in light of the findings, and to those engaged in litigation against the FDA, as well as to state and federal legislators, with concerns about abortion water pollution.
CLICK HERE TO READ SFLA’S COMMENT TO THE EPA.
“Not only does this show that we were right all along — some of us are drinking other people’s abortions — but it also shows the EPA that there is a test for mifepristone, as that is one of the criteria the agency considers when adding something to a tracking list,” Hawkins noted. “Within minutes of learning that the paper was published online, it was submitted to the EPA to be reviewed by the advisory committee, which will report to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.”
SFLA Executive Vice President Tina Whittington led the effort for SFLA to identify U.S. based water testing and observed: “We were told we had to prove mifepristone was in the water in the U.S. to get anyone to care. On our own we started to reach out to water testing companies only to have our business declined. Our frustration became inspiration for this group to find the path to test our drinking water and while we have been vindicated, I hope the larger response is urgency to clean up our water. The harm to endangered species and potentially the human harm is incalculable.”
Elise Rose, PhD, anchored the study, and holds degrees from Georgetown University and Howard University, along with her doctorate in Agronomy and Environmental Plant Physiology from Kansas State University.
Dr. Rose notes: “Because of the importance of progesterone for human and animal health, the presence of anti-progesterone in environmental and tap water poses potential health risks. Everyone should be concerned that we are possibly being exposed to an endocrine-disrupting compound without our consent.”
IN THE REPORT:
Key findings: Past research has shown that steroid hormones and other endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) are present in environmental water, with implications for human and wildlife health. Abortion providers have shifted a large part of their practice to medication-induced abortion, using the anti-progesterone synthetic steroid hormone mifepristone. We wanted to see if mifepristone, an EDC, could be detected in water sources. Water samples were collected from sites upstream and downstream of water treatment facilities, and from municipal tap water, from each of 3 American cities. The water samples were tested for mifepristone using PR CALUX®. There were significant levels of mifepristone (up to 0.041 μgram/l) in the water of all but one of the nine sampling classes. Because of the plethora of effects of progesterone, this contaminant could affect the physiology of aquatic animals; and human health, including fertility, pregnancy and fetal development. The findings indicate the necessity for significant additional investigation into the levels of various hormones and EDCs, including mifepristone, in water sources.
To note, the EPA set “enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels at 4.0 parts per trillion” for forever chemicals in drinking water during the Biden Administration. And SFLA found mifepristone at up to 41 parts per trillion, as noted above.
Working on enlarging consensus on water testing, SFLA Vice President of Media & Policy Kristi Hamrick testified before the EPA recently, noting that many members of Congress, state attorneys general, as well as outside organizations are concerned about mifepristone in the water.
In the last few weeks, 14 State Attorneys General asked the EPA to track mifepristone as did 19 Members of Congress. Through Students for Life of America’s (SFLA) efforts, nearly 3,000 people also demanded monitoring of this forever chemical.
In the last few years, more than 40 pro-family groups called on the EPA to track mifepristone, and two bi-cameral letters were sent to the EPA, including one headed by the current Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
And at the EPA other professional organizations concerned with women’s health and the environment, such as the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) and the American Conservation Coalition (ACC), which weighed in with medical and environmental concerns.
One concern about an endocrine blocker in the water is whether it a factor in the infertility crisis impacting America.
READ MORE about chemical abortion and infertility from Hawkins at the Washington Examiner: Is our drinking water leading to infertility? Ask the EPA
For interviews, email [email protected].
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The Pro-Life Generation (PLG) is an umbrella organization encompassing the most-cutting edge engagement opportunities for a Vote Pro-Life First Community. PLG includes Students for Life Action (SFLAction), a 501c4, along with its 501c3 sister organization, Students for Life of America (SFLA), that together make up the nation’s largest, pro-life youth organization, managing a grassroots political and policy operation engaging Americans of all ages but with a special emphasis on the largest segment of voters — the Youth Vote. Headquartered in Fredericksburg, VA, PLG/SFLA/SFLAction serves more than 1,400 groups on middle, high school, college, medical, and law school campuses in all 50 states. Our team has more conversations with this generation targeted by the abortion lobby than any other pro-life operation in the world, each week reaching more than 4 million across social media platforms and averaging 1.3 million video views. In addition to SFLA/SFLAction, PLG leads multiple initiatives to lead and serve the future of the pro-life movement including the Campaign for Abortion Free Cities, Standing With You, and the Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement . Over more than 17 years, PLG CEO Kristan Hawkins has grown the operation into a nearly $20M organization, now preparing for an abortion-free America.
