[Pflienews] PharmFacts E-News Update: Contraceptives affect environment too, water expert tells conference

[PFLI PharmAid Center]

*PharmFacts E-News Update -- 30 Jul 2008 AD

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http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0803877.htm

 


PARTNERS-NFP Jul-28-2008 (840 words) xxxn
*Contraceptives affect environment too, water expert tells conference*
By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service <http://www.catholicnews.com/index.html>

CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CNS) -- Mark W. LeChevallier agrees with Dr. Lester 
Ruppersberger, a pro-life obstetrician and gynecologist, that natural 
family planning is safe, healthy and effective. But he would add one 
more characteristic: It's environmentally responsible.

LeChevallier is director of innovation and environmental stewardship at 
American Water, the largest water and wastewater provider in North 
America. Along with his wife, he also has been a certified instructor of 
natural family planning for the past 25 years.

In separate talks July 26 to a national conference in Cherry Hill, 
LeChevallier and Ruppersberger approached the topic of natural family 
planning from very different directions but reached similarly positive 
conclusions.

The July 25-27 conference brought together leaders from diocesan 
pro-life, family life and social justice offices around the country.

Ruppersberger's talk on "Scientific Advances in Fertility Management" 
touted the benefits he has seen for his patients and himself since he 
switched to an NFP-only medical practice in 1999.

LeChevallier shared the podium with Roxana U. Barillas, a domestic 
policy adviser at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, for a 
discussion on "Toxins, the Environment and the Child in the Womb." He 
spoke about the drastic effects that discarded contraceptive medicines 
and devices have been having on the nation's water and animals, 
especially fish.

In a talk with the daunting title of "Endocrine Disruptions: Chemical 
Contraceptives in Sewage Effluents," LeChevallier explained that like 
secondhand smoke, "secondhand estrogens are being released into the 
environment," to devastating effect on fish, panthers, alligators and 
other wildlife.

He said the media "did a little bit of a disservice" to the American 
public when they reported earlier this year that the levels of 
contaminants found in drinking water could seriously harm humans.

For example, "you would have to drink 100 million gallons to get the 
dose found in one Tylenol," he said.

But "the synthetic estrogen used in birth control pills can wreak havoc 
on the sex lives of fish," LeChevallier said, citing reduced penis size 
in male fish, masculinized female fish and other sex-related changes.

Because the synthetic estrogen is not absorbed well into the body, much 
of the drug is released into the environment through women's urine, he 
said. In addition, used contraceptive rings and patches are having a 
further polluting effect, he said.

Noting that in Europe, drug manufacturers are required to provide a bag 
for disposal or return of used contraceptive devices, LeChevallier 
recommended that the U.S. adopt the same policy. "Why do pharmaceutical 
companies here get a free ride?" he asked.

He said touting the environmental benefits of natural family planning 
"can be a new way to evangelize youths" and attract them to the 
church-approved method of postponing pregnancy.

Ruppersberger explained the various forms of natural family planning in 
use today and said, "If you want to stop the abortion mentality, you 
have to stop contraception."

He said birth control pills are sometimes prescribed for women with 
excessive menstrual cramping or bleeding, endometriosis and even acne.

"I have not had any problem in my practice without writing a 
prescription for birth control," he added. "People don't die from acne, 
but they do die from complications of birth control."

Ruppersberger said the new tools available to help couples practice 
natural family planning include the OV watch, which is worn while 
sleeping and notifies women four days before ovulation; Persona, a 
handheld fertility device currently available only in Europe; and 
OvaCue, a fertility monitor that detects electrolytes in a woman's 
saliva to predict ovulation.

He also said the Internet is increasingly being used to teach natural 
family planning. "If the evil one can use the Internet for pornography, 
we can use it to teach NFP and respect for life," he said.

Ruppersberger outlined some of the medical effects of contraceptives on 
the human body -- cancers, infections, cardiovascular complications, 
effects on the liver and the death of the woman, not to mention the 
death of an unborn child in an abortion when contraceptives fail.

The use of contraceptives also has been shown to result in increased 
depression in the women who take them, decreased self-esteem, increased 
divorce rates and increased teen promiscuity and pregnancy rates, he said.

Barillas' presentation focused on the "distinctly Catholic approach to 
environmental concerns," which she said is neither "a new message for 
us" nor "an issue that is out there just for people who live close to 
the woods."

Of special concern for Catholics is the fact that "the poor and 
powerless are most likely to bear the burden of our environmental 
carelessness," she said.

"The poor, the elderly and persons with disabilities often are exposed 
to multiple contaminants," Barillas said, adding that children 
especially are at risk because they suffer "greater exposure pound for 
pound" and have a "diminished ability to detoxify and excrete many 
chemical toxins."

Unborn children also face many environmental risks, including lead, 
mercury, pesticides and other chemicals, she said.

Many of those concerns are being addressed by the Catholic Coalition for 
Children and a Safe Environment and other organizations, she said.

END

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