WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, Liberty Counsel Action (LCA) met with U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary and discussed the environmental risks associated with the abortion pill protocol (Mifepristone and Misoprostol) and the legal basis for a new environmental assessment. LCA presented Dr. Makary with evidence that chemical abortion drugs are contaminating America’s drinking water and recommended that the FDA both assess U.S. water sources for potential abortion pill contaminants and their possible adverse effects, and initiate proper disposal protocols for the aborted fetal remains and medical waste associated with chemical abortions. LCA also recommended the FDA suspend the drug’s current approval until the assessment is complete.

Since May 2025, LCA has elevated the issue of abortion-related contaminants in the nation’s water supply within the federal government through its initiative: “Abortion in Our Water” (AIOW).  The meeting with Commissioner Makary followed a letter from LCA sent to the FDA in October 2025 requesting to discuss its authority and responsibility to conduct a legally compliant, up-to-date environmental assessment of the abortion pill protocol.

LCA President John Stemberger, Liberty Counsel Vice President of Government Affairs Jonathan Alexandre, and LCA Public Policy Analyst Abigail Forman met with Commissioner Makary and five members of his staff. LCA raised concerns that the original 1996 environmental assessment was flawed and that subsequent major FDA actions related to the abortion pills have not adequately addressed the environmental consequences of abortion pill use.

In the meeting, LCA representatives said the timing of the review is especially important because the FDA is already conducting a safety review of Mifepristone, and any environmental review can and should proceed alongside that process creating a unique opportunity to address long-standing regulatory oversights that protect both women and the public from potential environmental harms.

LCA used the meeting to present a detailed review of its findings that FDA approvals of the abortion pill protocol did not fully account for the generation of fetal remains and medical waste leading to improper disposal of medical waste, nor did they account for the possible environmental impact of active mifepristone metabolites in water sources. Indeed, later FDA actions in 2011, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 should have included a renewed environmental analysis as well. LCA noted the FDA has the authority to conduct a new assessment under the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.

LCA urged the FDA to:

• Direct the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research to begin an immediate environmental assessment of Mifepristone and Misoprostol;
• Suspend its 2000 approval of Mifepristone (and all approvals that followed) until that assessment is complete;
• Study abortion pill metabolites in U.S. water sources and drinking water and their possible adverse effects on human health and fertility,
• Work with the Environmental Protection Agency on Mifepristone monitoring efforts;
• Establish proper protocols for the collection and disposal of fetal remains and related medical waste; and
• Strengthen safety protocols, including in-person verification of gestational age and screening for ectopic pregnancy. 

LCA President John Stemberger said, “Liberty Counsel Action is grateful that FDA Commissioner Makary not only agreed to meet to discuss this vital topic, but was openly engaged and thoughtful throughout our discussion. It was an honor to share with him information exposing the critical issue of abortion pill contaminants in America’s drinking water. We have a unique opportunity to fix historic oversights and protect all Americans—both women using abortion pills and the American public, which may be ingesting water contaminated with trace amounts of the abortion pill. At the very least, we believe proper safeguards should be in place to ensure that fetal remains and related waste are not improperly flushed into the water system, given their ability to clog pipes and contribute to sewer system overflows, which can lead to extreme environmental harm. The best outcome would be ending approval of the chemical abortion pill protocol altogether which would save lives, prevent harms to women, and protect the environment.” 

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