Alaska’s AG among those urging EPA to classify mifepristone as water contaminant

Fourteen state attorneys general are asking the EPA to classify the abortion medication mifepristone as a water contaminant. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

By Nada Hassanein

Stateline

Republican attorneys general from 14 states and 19 GOP members of Congress are asking U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin to classify and regulate the abortion medication mifepristone as a water contaminant.

Mifepristone is prescribed as part of a two-drug medication regimen to terminate a pregnancy. Studies have shown medication abortion to be safe and effective.

In a letter last Friday, the state officials argued that mifepristone is “a growing threat to the country’s waterways.” The letter was signed by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.

A concurrent letter, led by Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, made similar claims and was signed by 18 other GOP members of Congress.

Environmental health science experts say there is no evidence that mifepristone in wastewater causes harm to the environment or to humans.

“There’s no evidence that medication abortion is affecting U.S. water systems, including drinking water and aquatic wildlife,” the Center for Biological Diversity, which advocates for stronger environmental protections, says on its website.

The GOP letters cite a 1996 FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research statement that said harmful environmental effects from mifepristone were “not anticipated,” while acknowledging that the drug may enter the environment via excretion or disposal of pharmaceutical waste. But drug trace amounts in water are a common occurrence, experts say, and state environmental agencies and scientists check for harmful contaminants in water as part of protocols and research.

In 2025, state lawmakers in seven states introduced nine bills that included claims about medication abortion and its effects on the environment and water. State lawmakers also introduced legislation calling for testing for mifepristone in water systems.

Last year, Republican members of Congress brought up similar concerns in a letter to the EPA.

The U.S. Supreme Court decided last month to preserve telehealth access to mifepristone until after the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled on the merits of the high-stakes federal lawsuit Louisiana v. Food and Drug Administration.

Medication abortion accounted for nearly two-thirds of all clinician-provided abortions in states without abortion bans in 2023, according to the most recent data available from the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization focused on advancing reproductive rights.

• This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Alaska Beacon, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.