MAHA's Latest Obsession: Abortion in the Water
10.20.25
Click to skip ahead: Something in the Water flags that conservatives are leaning into their abortion-in-the-water schtick. Care Crisis has a sad update about a young mother in Illinois. In the States, news from Nebraska, Virginia, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Michigan, and more. Ballot Box has news from Virginia, Pennsylvania, California, and Georgia.
Something in the Water
With Republicans ramping up attacks on mifepristone, anti-abortion activists are using the opportunity to revive one of their most batshit theories: that abortion pills are poisoning the environment and contaminating our water supply. They even claim that because women who have medication abortions flush embryonic or fetal remains, “we are drinking other people’s abortions.”
Absurd as it sounds, this isn’t a fringe argument or something we can laugh off. Abortion, Every Day has tracked the tactic for years, watching it evolve from a sparkle in Students for Life’s eyes to a campaign backed by federal lawmakers. In June, we uncovered that 25 congressional Republicans had asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to test the nation’s water supply for abortion pills. Now, according to a report from The New York Times, the EPA is actually considering it.
And let’s be clear: this isn’t just about abortion. Anti-choice groups also want Republicans to test the groundwater for birth control and hormones used in gender-affirming care—a chilling call for surveillance in a moment when women are already being arrested for their pregnancy outcomes. (According to sources who spoke to the Times, wastewater testing could even “identify a particular street or home where the pills were used.”)
The strategy has always been about punishment: anti-abortion activists have pressed the FDA to require women who self-manage their abortions bag up their blood and pregnancy remains, bringing it back to the doctor’s office as hazardous waste. Republicans also introduced federal legislation—backed by Students for Life and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America—that would make it a crime for abortion patients to flush fetal remains. Never mind that waterways can’t distinguish between the remains from an abortion and those from a miscarriage—conservatives are only interested in targeting the former.
Almost like this was never about the environment at all.
And remember, this abortion-in-the-water theory sprang up right around the same time Students for Life conducted polling that found young people—who are overwhelmingly pro-choice—care deeply about the environment. Vice president Kristi Hamrick told one audience that focusing on the environment wasn’t her “first weapon of choice.” But, she added, “environmental law has teeth…and frankly, I’m for using the devil’s own tools against them.”
Once MAHA happened—along with RFK Jr’s rise, conspiracy theories about ‘toxins’, and a new pro-natalist White House—the movement shifted focus, claiming abortion pills in the water make women infertile. And that’s exactly what GOP lawmakers brought up in their letter to the EPA.
Now, as Republican senators pressure the FDA to roll back approval of mifepristone, anti-abortion organizations are back at it: Liberty Counsel Action is blasting the agency over its approval of generic mifepristone, calling the medication “an environmental pollutant.” And Students for Life has refiled citizen petitions against the drug based on “medical waste requirements,” “environmental protection,” and “clean water.”
At The Federalist today, Hamrick also lays into the FDA for their upcoming ‘safety review’ of mifepristone, writing that “the failures in the process include absolute neglect of abortion water pollution.”
All of which is to say: they’re going all in on this. It’s ridiculous and not even remotely based in reality—but we have to prepare to fight back against it anyway. Learn more below:
Care Crisis
Last week, we told you about Harmonie—an Illinois woman refused timely treatment for her ectopic pregnancy by an OBGYN affiliated with a Catholic hospital. Harmonie—who already lost a fallopian tube from a previous ectopic pregnancy, and was terrified of dying—had to go to multiple clinics and hospitals before she was able to get the care she needed.
We’re very sorry to report that despite eventually getting help, it was too late: the 28-year-old had to have her second fallopian tube removed this weekend. If you’d like to leave some words of support, consider leaving a kind comment on her most recent video. (And don’t worry, we’ve connected her with organizations that are helping.)
Let’s be frank: this is obscene. The fact that religiously-affiliated hospitals are regularly denying women care—under the guise of protecting ‘life’, no less—is disgusting. And that these hospital systems are proliferating across the country should seriously alarm all of us, no matter where we live.
In the States
The legislative session hasn’t even started, and Nebraska state Sen. Rick Holdcroft is already throwing a hissyfit over abortion—accusing the Department of Health and Human Services of being “totally ineffective” in overseeing clinics. What he’s really peeved about, of course, is that the DHHS hasn’t shut any clinics down.
That’s why he’s calling for an interim study on the “quality of patient services” at Nebraska’s clinics and whether the state’s current oversight is adequate. He’s doing what most Republicans do when abortion is even nominally available: trying to make it impossible for clinics to operate.
Holdcroft is also pushing a bill that would force medically unnecessary in-person appointments, both before and after taking abortion pills.
Something notable: an attorney from the Thomas More Society testified at Holdcroft’s hearing this week. Senior counsel Matthew Heffron even slammed the DHHS in a release, saying “this hearing is essential to force accountability…laws protecting life must mean something.”
The Thomas More Society is a powerhouse conservative legal group behind all sorts of anti-abortion lawsuits and legislation—so as you can imagine, we keep a close eye when one of these guys shows up in a room. We’ll let you know if anything interesting happens.
Meanwhile, don’t let the mundanity of local zoning laws conceal anti-abortion activists’ latest strategy to shutter clinics. We told you last week that the Lynchburg City Council in Virginia is advancing an ordinance to prevent clinics from operating within a thousand feet of churches, public libraries, schools, parks, children’s museums, and day care centers. If you’d like to learn more, listen to Virginia Public Radio’s latest segment; we expect to see lots more local moves like this, especially in pro-choice states.
Speaking of Republicans pushing policies that fly in the face of pro-choice law: A medical ethics expert testified in Kansas last week that GOP legislators’ abortion restrictions require doctors to interact with patients in a way that conflicts with professional standards of ethics.
The restrictions include a waiting period, a mandate that doctors share misinformation about abortion with patients, and a requirement that providers ask patients invasive questions about why they’re seeking care and then report those answers to the state. So yeah, not so ethical!
Matthew Wynia from the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado is one of several experts who testified in opposition to the state’s ridiculously-named “Woman’s Right to Know Act.” We’ve been following the trial in Kansas that will determine the future of that law.
In better news…
Something cool is happening this week in Missouri: Ahead of World Vasectomy Day, Planned Parenthood Great Plains, Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, and SimpleVas are providing free vasectomies to uninsured or underinsured patients over the next few days. Dr. Margaret Baum, chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, says “Everyone has the right to choose what’s best for their own family—regardless of their gender.” KCTV has a list of dates and locations for those interested.
And some terrific news in Colorado, where former employees of the Boulder Abortion Clinic (BAC) have launched the RISE Collective—a reproductive care clinic offering all-trimester abortions.
You may remember that Dr. Warren Hern—who provided later abortion care for decades—announced BAC’s closure earlier this year, citing the funding crisis and increased harassment and threats. BAC was one of the few clinics in the nation that provided abortion care later in pregnancy, so it was tough news for abortion access.
That’s why we were thrilled to learn that former staff were considering starting their own venture. The RISE Collective officially opened their doors this month—congratulations!
If you want to learn more about later abortion care, consider checking out AED’s conversation with Dr. Shelley Sella—the first woman to openly practice third-trimester abortion care in the U.S., and the author of Beyond Limits: Stories of Third-Trimester Abortion Care. We spoke about her incredible book (which you should absolutely buy), why politicians need to get over their fear of talking about later abortions, and how compassion and empathy is at the heart of third-trimester care:
Finally, good on University of Michigan students for protesting Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins’ visit last week. The anti-abortion, anti-contraception extremist is visiting colleges as part of a grossly named, “Abortion is Oppression Campus Tour.” Ick.
Quick Hits:
Oregon shared new data showing increases in out-of-state abortion patients and abortion later in pregnancy—which has anti-abortion activists utterly melting down;
Cool news in Texas, where Teal Health has become the first FDA-approved at-home cervical cancer screening service via a test that resembles a tampon;
And the city of Denver, Colorado, signed on to an amicus brief demanding the restoration of federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
Ballot Box
As they absolutely should, Democrats are back to beating the drum on abortion rights on the campaign trail. A new feature in CNN highlights the issue’s outsized role in key states like Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. It can’t be emphasized enough: Abortion is a winning issue. That’s why you’d be hard-pressed to see a GOP candidate talk about the issue openly and honestly.
Abortion has certainly been a driving issue in the Virginia gubernatorial race between Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears. As a refresher, Lt. Gov. Earle-Sears has called abortion a “genocide,” said consent to sex is consent to pregnancy, and has spent the last few weeks pushing a manufactured scandal about a school counselor paying for teens’ abortions. (ICYMI: an investigation found the story was likely fabricated.)
But if you want to get a full sense of Earle-Sears’ anti-abortion extremism, just take a moment to watch her most recent debate with Spanberger. Their exchange on the issue—and Earle-Sears’ behavior—was so bizarre, it bordered on unwatchable. She pulled a Donald Trump, claiming that her Democratic opponent wants to abort a “full live baby…the minute it’s born.” She also wouldn’t let Spanberger get a word in. There’s no way to articulate the strangeness; it has to be watched.
Rewire has more on the stakes for abortion in Virginia’s legislative and AG races, reminding us that who has control of the legislature will determine whether or not abortion ends up on the ballot in 2026.
Abortion is also taking center stage in Pennsylvania: Voters will decide whether to retain three state Supreme Court justices in a moment when cases involving abortion, birth control, gender-affirming care, and medical privacy standards are expected to be on the dockets in the near future.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently ruled that abortion restrictions can be considered sex-based discrimination, and anti-abortion leaders are continuously attacking abortion access in the legislature—inevitably sending more cases down the judicial pipeline.
That’s why anti-abortion groups are spending so furiously on these three races—as are pro-choice organizations. A mailer sent out by Planned Parenthood Action Fund put it plainly: “anti-abortion billionaires are coming after our rights.”
California also has a big ballot item this November: Proposition 50, which would replace the current congressional map to effectively create five new majority-Democrat districts. It’s a vital counterweight to what’s happening in places like Texas, where lawmakers are redrawing their maps to wipe out Democratic districts and lock in GOP power.
Meanwhile, a reminder that anti-abortion extremist group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America launched a $4.5 million campaign targeting U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia. Ossoff—a longtime critic of the state’s abortion ban—released a report about the critical harm patients faced as a result of the law, and helped to uncover rampant mistreatment and forced sterilizations of detained immigrant women. So when SBA calls Ossoff “a pro-abortion radical,” it’s a title we would wear as a badge of honor.
Whether California or Georgia, the stakes couldn’t be higher: control of Congress will determine whether Republicans can keep advancing their anti-abortion agenda—from crackdowns on abortion coverage to a national ban.
CORRECTION: When reporting on this terrific research brief last week, we misidentified the organization behind the report, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). Apologies to the organization, who does fantastic work that you should check out and support!
The idea of “abortion pollutants” is one of the most absurd scare tactics pushed by anti-abortion extremists.
The claim usually goes something like this: when someone takes mifepristone or misoprostol, remnants of the medication—or even “fetal tissue”—will somehow contaminate the water supply. It’s meant to conjure horror-movie imagery, not to reflect reality. These medications are metabolized by the body like countless others. By this logic, every single drug—from chemotherapy agents to antidepressants to Viagra—would be a “pollutant.” Yet no one is proposing to ban them. The fixation on abortion pills is political, not scientific.
Our waterways do contain traces of pharmaceuticals—antibiotics, hormones from birth control, painkillers, blood pressure meds. This is a legitimate environmental and public health issue, but it’s universal, not unique to abortion care. The same politicians crying wolf about “abortion pollutants” vote against environmental regulations, clean water funding, and pharmaceutical take-back programs. Their concern for “pollution” vanishes the moment it involves oil companies or industrial agriculture.
The “abortion pollutant” narrative isn’t about protecting rivers or fish. It’s about attaching a scarlet letter to abortion medication, painting it as toxic, dirty, contaminating. It’s another way to stigmatize patients and providers—just as “abortion reversal,” “heartbeat bills,” and “fetal personhood” laws weaponize pseudoscience to advance control.
Imagine our government claiming the right to test wastewater for abortion pills. That’s not about environmental safety—it’s about surveillance, criminalization, and stripping people of medical privacy. It’s the same authoritarian impulse we’ve seen in Texas bounty laws and Indiana’s terminated pregnancy reports.
At its core, the idea of “abortion pollutants” is absurd because it singles out one of the safest, most common medications for political demonization—while ignoring real, large-scale pollutants that threaten public health daily. It is not science; it’s stigma with a lab coat thrown over it.
As aggravating as this is, "abortion in the water" made me imagine that pregnant people could go skinny-dipping in a river and get an instant abortion. Like the meds would just make their way up in you and poof, no more fetus.