Contraceptive pills are making fish 'trans' as hormones pollute water supply

Contaminated water supply could have an affect on children.

Contraceptive pills are making fish "transgendered" as the pills enter the water supply, according to a new study. The study beings attention to the question of chemicals in our water supply due to our reliance on pills.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- Contraceptive pills are entering our water supply and turning fish transgender, according to a study out of Britain. The study, presented by Professor Charles Tyler of the University of Exeter, has found that many species of freshwater fish are showing transgender characteristics. This phenomenon is affecting as much as twenty percent of the fish population.

Fish are now being discovered with organs of both kinds, male and female. Male fish are producing eggs. The study is alarming because these changes make it difficult for fish to reproduce and could depress their populations. It also demonstrates the harm caused by pharmaceutical chemicals unintentionally added to our water supply.

Everything is a chemical, but not every chemical is beneficial. When we take pills, we can manage our bodies in a way that benefits us. However, these chemicals are not always broken down in our bodies, instead they are flushed out.

Sewage systems still flow into waterways and the chemicals from contraceptives make their way into the wild. And it isn't just contraceptives, but anti-depressants and more. Antidepressants make fish bold, which increases their exposure to predators, according to Professor Tyler.

While the impact of these chemicals on fish populations is significant, we must also wonder about the impact on human populations. Could chemicals from medications be affecting children in the womb and as they grow? Could some of the changes western society is facing be the product of these chemicals?

The tragedy is that we are poisoning our world. We synthesize powerful chemicals in the laboratory and pass these though our bodies for a quick, powerful effect. Some people are dependent on these chemicals. These compounds are then passed into our water supply, and consumed by others with unknown effect. Even though the doses are smaller, sometimes the victims are small too. A baby in the womb can be smaller than a fish.

Tyler's study identified over 200 drugs in the water affecting more than 20 percent of freshwater fish. Male fish from 50 different sites had feminine characteristics.

We are poisoning our world and ourselves, and aside from ending our modern drug culture, nobody has any idea how we can stop it.