For Protest the Pill Day ’10: The Pill Kills the Environment

The following are some questions about birth control. Feel free to use these answers if you are approached while protesting the pill.

If you would like even more information, you can read the 2009 Talking Points.

How exactly does the birth control pill "kill" the environment?
A: The birth control pill, patch and other estrogen filled birth control products enter into our waste water via the urine of women who take these dangerous steroidal hormones. Scientists have discovered that this synthetic estrogen is having devastating effects on our fish population. In 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey performed a study in the Potomac River and found that 80 percent of the male smallmouth bass had intersex characteristics—these male fish were growing female reproductive parts1. This terrifying reality is also contaminating our municipal water supply, posing hazards to anyone who drinks it. In New Jersey, traces of birth control hormones and other prescription drugs were found in municipal tap water in 2003.

Q: I've heard that male fish have become more feminine because of the pill. Is that true?
A: Yes, studies conducted in the United States from California to Maryland have revealed male fish that became feminized due to the presence of synthetic estrogen in the water. High levels of estrogen have affected the fish population not only in our country, but in other parts of the world as well. The University of Colorado netted 123 trout downstream from the city's sewer plant for a study. Of these 123 trout, there were 101 female, 12 male and 10 dubbed "intersex" because they possessed both male and female features. It was determined that the intersex changes were caused by estrogen and other steroidal hormones from birth control pills and patches that eventually made its way into the creek from the city's sewers. University of Colorado biologist John Woodling told the Denver Post: "It's the first thing that I've seen as a scientist that really scared me."2

Q: Are there only a few areas of the country that the pill has contaminated?
A: Studies throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan have found high levels of estrogen in water due to the oral contraceptive pill. The research has shown that scientists are discovering "intersex" fish in areas throughout the world. In the United States, many studies have had the same results, especially downstream from sewage treatment plants.

Q: What can we do to help save our environment?
A: Educate! Educate the women in your life about the dangerous consequences the birth control pill can have, not only on them but on their preborn baby and all of the people in their community as well. The very fact that scientists are finding "intersex" fish, that is male fish with eggs in their testes, should be enough to alarm the environmentalists in your area and others that are concerned about protecting our environment. Scientists are finding that the presence of female hormones in our water is making male fish, frogs and river otters less masculine.3