Reproductive Health Technologies Project: Hepburn Center Internship Summer 2008

1. Reproductive Health Technologies Project: Hepburn Center Internship Summer 2008 • Intern: Steph Herold • Dr. Susan Wood Fellow • Bryn Mawr College September, 2008

2. What is RHTP’s mission? The mission of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project (RHTP) is to advance the ability of every woman to achieve full reproductive freedom with access to the safest, most effective, and preferred methods for controlling her fertility and protecting her health.

3. How does that break down? RHTP deals with four main program areas of women’s health. 1. Reproductive Genetic Technologies: PGD, ART, SCNT Protect women’s health Preserve reproductive autonomy Preserve health of offspring

4. How does that break down? 2. Health and Wellness: Cervical Health: Ensure every woman in the US has the best protection against cervical cancer available Fertility: Preserve fertility; build majority for reproductive autonomy

5. How does that break down? 3. Contraception: Oral Contraception: Expand access to quality contraceptive care Emergency Contraception: Over the counter approval of Plan B Other Contraceptives: Diffuse contraceptive busts

6. 4. Abortion: • Medical Abortion: Ensure availability of options; prevent future morbidity and mortality • Reframe Reproductive Rights: Build majority for reproductive autonomy How does that break down?

7. My Projects at RHTP Fact sheet on birth control hormones in waste and tap water; Document summarizing the links between the Kid-Safe Chemical Act and the reproductive justice community; Document summarizing the links between reproductive health and environmental health for Dr. Susan Wood upon her appointment as Co-Chair of the Women’s Health Policy Subcommittee for Senator Barak Obama’s presidential campaign; Document summarizing the links between the reproductive justice community and the environmentalist community for a lay audience; Article for publication on the blog Reproductive Health Reality Check on chronic illnesses and assisted reproductive technologies; Comprehensive document summarizing studies on why women are not using contraception and why. Chart on new science: microbicides, male contraception, emerging female contraception.

8. Reproductive Health Technologies Project Birth Control Hormones in Waste and Tap Water Questions explored: - Are birth control hormones in tap water? Waste Water? - To what extent? How do we know? - How does this affect human health? Animal health? - What is being done by the FDA? Congress? Lobbyists? - What is the media saying? - What action is taking place on the Hill? - What are the next steps for the reproductive health community?

9. Estrogens in the Water • Few studies have tackled the issue of EE2 (estrogen in BC) in tap water. Without credible science, it is difficult to assess the impact or prevalence of EE2 in tap water. Fortunately, there are several studies that have illuminated the effects of EE2 in waste water, particularly on aquatic life. • Studies on the affects of EE2 on fish claim that male fish began developing female reproductive characteristics. EE2 is not the only hormone to blame. The scientists acknowledge the more research is critical to this investigation to determine exactly what mixture of hormones are harming fish • Based on current science, it is impossible to tell the effects on humans – unfortunately, by the time we figure out the negative effects, it will probably be too late to stop them. Breakdown

10. Brief Introduction • Pharmaceuticals in the Water • More than 100 different types of pharmaceuticals or their metabolites have been found in water bodies in Europe and the United States, including in the drinking water supplies. • Pharmaceuticals are not the only contaminants in waste and tap water supplies (plastic bottles, farm byproducts, personal care products). • While most municipal waste water treatment facilities and tap water drinking facilities go through a multi-step process in an attempt to rid waste water of these contaminants, these steps are often not oriented towards filtering out pharmaceuticals and their byproducts.

11. Breakdown • Hormones in the Water • In a Tap Water Quality Report, the Environmental Working Group detected 260 contaminants in the water (agricultural pollutants, sprawl and urban pollutants, industrial pollutants, water treatment and distribution byproducts, naturally occurring, and unregulated contaminants). • Impossible to know exactly how much of what hormone is in what water supply because each water supply is different based on what the population consumes.

12. Proposed Solutions • **Fund research – investigate long-term effects on humans • Municipal wastewater treatment plants can and do remove estrogens from wastewater, but many are not specifically designed to do this. There is a treatment that does this, but it is not used nationally. • The prototype Fe-TAML activator was evaluated as the foundation of a new peroxide approach for destroying problematic water-borne hormones and estrogenic activity. Although Fe-TAML gets rid of a large percentage of estrogen, the amount still left in the water is enough to cause harm to fish.

13. Proposed Solutions • **Fund research – investigate long-term effects on humans • Municipal wastewater treatment plants can and do remove estrogens from wastewater, but many are not specifically designed to do this. There is a treatment that does this, but it is not used nationally. • The prototype iron-tetraamidomacrocyclic ligand (Fe-TAML) activator was evaluated as the foundation of a new peroxide approach for destroying problematic water-borne hormones and estrogenic activity. Although Fe-TAML gets rid of a large percentage of estrogen, the amount still left in the water is enough to cause harm to fish.

14. Take Away Lessons from Internship • Intersecting worlds of reproductive health, rights, and justice • Cross-movement work is vital to the progress and pertinence of reproductive justice • Competing worlds of politics and science • Inability to rely on the media for accurate information on science • We have a long way to go in ensuring every woman has access to safe, affordable, reliable healthcare