MERCURY AND THE UNBORN

Educating fellow Christians about the dangers of mercury and its impact on children, born and unborn, is a crucial part of our mission. This is because we believe that all human life is sacred. Each person conceived is of equal and innate value, and all human life is worthy of protection (Psalm 139: 13-14). 

Mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin that, when ingested by pregnant women, crosses the placenta and results in irreversible brain damage in unborn children. The same impacts occur even after birth, as mothers can transfer mercury through breastmilk. There are no known safe levels of mercury. Even with the current success brought about by the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), our streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans still contain harmful levels of the life-destroying heavy metal.

Coal-fired electric utilities are America’s largest source of mercury. When emitted, the mercury deposited in our water bodies is consumed by fish and enters our food. Every state in the nation still has active fresh-consumption advisories against consuming fish contaminated by mercury. The threat to our children is very much alive.

We have been promoting and defending strong mercury standards for years. We worked to help implement MATS in 2012. We also successfully defended MATS after former EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler proposed altering or rolling back the rule in December 2018. In January 2022, we celebrated that current EPA Administrator Michael Regan proposed to reinstate MATS. Most recently in February 2023, we celebrated as Regan signed the finalized rule.

Learn more about the importance of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard:

Watch: learn more about the dangers of mercury and its impact on the unborn.