The E.P.A. Followed Up on an Unusual Request About Abortion Pills
Source: New York Times
Oct. 10, 2025 Updated 5:22 p.m. ET
Senior officials at the Environmental Protection Agency directed scientists over the summer to assess whether the government could develop methods for detecting traces of abortion pills in wastewater — a practice sought by anti-abortion activists seeking to restrict the medication. The highly unusual request appears to have originated from a letter sent from 25 Republican members of Congress to Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, asking the agency to investigate how the abortion drug mifepristone might be contaminating the water supply.
“Are there existing E.P.A.-approved methods for detecting mifepristone and its active metabolites in water supplies?” the lawmakers asked at the end of the public letter, sent on June 18, an effort led by Senator James Lankford and Representative Josh Brecheen, both of Oklahoma. “If not, what resources are needed to develop these testing methods?”
Scientists who specialize in chemical detection told the senior officials that there are currently no E.P.A.-approved methods for identifying mifepristone in wastewater — but that new methods could be developed, according to two people familiar with the events, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.
Abortion pills have emerged as a major focus for the anti-abortion movement since the fall of Roe v. Wade, as growing numbers of women in states with abortion bans have turned to websites and underground networks that send the pills through the mail, allowing them to circumvent the laws.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/us/politics/epa-abortion-wastewater.html
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