Summary Of Birth Control In Drinking Water

In the article Birth Control in Drinking Water: A Fertility Catastrophe in the Making? from the National Catholic Register, the writer Celeste McGovern, argues that EE2 (the form of synthetic estrogen found in most birth control pills) may have negative effects on human health. She argues that birth control pills are not safe for use, as they are ending up in the water supply by being urinated by the females using them. The first example McGovern uses to back up her claim is by looking at the effects of EE2 on Japanese Medaka fish that were exposed to the hormone via drinking water. She claims that the male fish in the drinking water had trouble fertilizing their eggs and that the offspring of the test fish had a reduced likelihood of survival. In the original study that discusses the sex changes of the Japanese fish, the authors do not mention birth control as the leading source of EE2; in fact the article does not mention birth control …show more content…
For example, livestock also produce the same forms of estrogen as humans in addition to the hormones they may be given, and they also produce much more manure than sanitary waste by humans (Wise et al, 2010). Livestock may account for 90% of the estrogen present in drinking water. Pesticides such as atrazine, phytoestrogens such as soy, and industrial chemicals such as BPA can also contribute to levels of estrogen in water supply (Wise et al, 2010). Based on the evidence that estrogen levels can alter certain male fish species, it was a good idea to look into the effects of estrogen in the water supply on humans. However, the amount of estrogen from birth control in the water supply is very minimal and poses no harm to people who drink it regularly. The pros of birth control outweigh this ‘con’; therefore there is no need to stop the usage of the