#premarin

[arikitari-josei-osaka-naru]

Naru's new prescription (circa 1999)

Synthetic Estradiol wasn't a thing yet in the 1990s, so in this story concept she's got the more antiquated Premarin instead.

(I know I've been leaning really far into this HC lately, and that it's mostly author appeal since I'm trans, and I understand most people probably don't buy into this random idea since there's nothing to indicate it in the series... but it speaks to me, and I kinda figure, why not just go for it? So here we are.)

[acti-veg]

Hello. As a queer vegan who supports both animal rights and LGBT+ rights, I am extremely upset to learn about the unethical exploitation of animals in regards to hormones and surgery, for example the forceful impregnation of horses in order to obtain estrogen. I’m honestly speechless... How do we go about this? What are your (and your followers’) thoughts? I’m devastated. Thanks.

I’m not sure what you mean by surgery in this context, but in terms of estrogen there has been some misinformation floating around about this, largely from transphobes. I’ve been tagged by several of them with the whole ‘Acti won’t answer this because he can’t’ spiel. The obvious truth that they are well aware of is that I just don’t bother trying to have good faith conversations with bigots. When I’m asked by anyone else I give a very simple answer, and it’s the exact same one I give whenever any non-vegan medication is discussed, which is, by the way, almost all medication.

Firstly just some clarification, when we talk about horse estrogen we are largely talking about a specific drug called Premarin, made by Pfizer. It is sometimes used as hormone replacement for transition, though it has fallen out of favour for this purpose in recent years due to the development of safer and more effective alternatives. It is far more commonly prescribed for menopause, pregnancy and the prevention of osteoporosis.

Strangely enough, I have literally never seen anyone criticise a cis women for taking it when prescribed during pregnancy or menopause. And yet, it’s suddenly a huge animal rights issue when it’s trans women who have also been prescribed it by a medical professional, and it’s being bought up specifically by TERFs, who I am sure have no ulterior motive in the matter beyond their deep concern for animal rights…

Premarin needs to be approached like any other medication that is the result of animal exploitation, which again, is almost all of them. The manufacturer has to carry the blame, not those who depend on using it. There has been more than one plant-based estrogen drug approved by the FDA, one of which is now very popular. However, in the US especially, Pfizer have a monopoly on some areas of the market and there is no generic variant of this drug currently available, despite it costing well over $200 for a 30 day supply. Moral outrage is absolutely the correct response to this issue, but it should be directed at the right people for the right reasons.

[devoted1989]

premarin - $1 billion of suffering and death

the cruelty in hrt

Drugs made from the urine of pregnant mares generate more than $1 billion in sales for Pfizer every year.

Due to its high oestrogen concentration, it is a key ingredient in many Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) drugs.

Premarin (PREgnant MARes' URIne) is the commercial name for the HRT medication manufactured by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals which is owned by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.

abuses on pmu farms

For 6 months of their 11 - month pregnancies, the horses are confined 24/7 to stalls so small that they cannot turn around or take more than one step in any direction.

Around the world, hundreds of thousands of pregnant mares are kept on pregnant mare urine (PMU) farms. Here they must wear rubber urine-collection bags at all times, causing chafing and lesions. They are denied free access to water to increase oestrogen concentration.

Once the foals are born, they are taken away from their mothers – often forcibly. They are typically sold at auction by farmers where most are purchased by slaughterhouses.

Mares are then re-impregnated. This cycle continues for about 12 years until they are unable to become pregnant and are sent to slaughter.

Pfizer has PMU farms in the U.S. and Canada, as well as in China and India. They have purchased conjugated equine oestrogens in bulk from China and India since the 1980s. There are currently no nationwide laws in China that explicitly prohibit the mistreatment of animals.

If you’ve been prescribed HRT drugs like Prempak-C, Prempro, Premique, Premarin or the combined menopausal - osteoporosis drug Duavee, you have been prescribed a synthetic form of HRT that contains conjugated horse oestrogens.

plant - based alternatives to hrt

Plant - based and synthetic HRTs carry comparable benefits and risks.

Bio-identical hormones (BHRT) differ from conventional hormone replacement therapy, which by definition uses animal or synthetic hormones whose structures differ from those produced in the human body.

BHRT hormones are used as an alternative to HRT. They are compounds that have exactly the same chemical and molecular structure as hormones that are produced in the human body.

They are mostly derived from soya and yams which are chemically altered to become a therapeutic agent for humans and are thus cruelty free.

Transdermal gels and patches are suitable for vegans as well as pellets and implants. The vast majority of HRT tablets are not suitable for vegans as they tend to contain lactose and/or gelatine.

Some examples of alternative drugs include Estrace, Estratab, Climara, Cenestin, and Ortho-Est.

More information on the benefits and risks of BHRT may be found here:

https://www.healthline.com/health/bioidentical-hormone-replacement-therapy

With thanks to NEAVS, Wikipedia, Equine Advocates, Horse Fund and Last Chance for Animals.

Note: Whilst care has been taken to confirm the current availability of the HRT and BHRT mentioned some may have been discontinued since the sources were published.

Article originally posted in August 2021.

Image: Unsplash.

Graphic image by Elisabeth Mary.

[elierlick]

All forms of estrogen are valid.

[acti-veg]

It sounds like Premarin isn’t commonly prescribed anymore, and now estradiol is the most common form of estrogen for transfemmes. Premarin has some side effects and it’s harder to test hormone blood levels on it, and ethical concerns are probably part of the reason for it being less popular too. But estradiol is made from yams, so it’s vegan. And it’s molecularly identical to regular, human estrogen.

Could you elaborate on what you meant by Pfizer having a monopoly like that? Is there a thing where insurance won’t cover one specific form, but will with the other?

Premarin does seem to have fallen out of popular use in transition, I couldn’t find any reliable statistics on that. However, I did find out that it is still very commonly prescribed to treat menopausal symptoms and to prevent osteoporosis. Pfizer have a monopoly on it because despite the fact that a 30-day supply can cost well over $200, there is no generic alternative and apparently it is likely that there never will be.

I agree that my original post was a bit unclear in terms of what I meant by monopoly, so I have edited to clarify a bit.

[rosejuliianaa]

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[politicalhobbyist]

For those that didn't know Premarin is a medication made from the urine of pregnant horses. It is used in hormone replacement for menopausal or transgender women, and has existed since the basically the bronze age. So what you have here is a group trying to present itself as an animal rights group to attack the availability of transgender Healthcare. Taking a relatively politically neutral cause and leveraging it against transgender people. So that is fun.

[politicalhobbyist]

For the oddballs on both the animal rights and Ann Coulter mailing lists. If you don't know premarin is a medication used by transwomen and is made using the pee of pregnant horses. As opposed to jello which is made from the bones of horses, which they tend to be more fond of than their pee but guess which one gets a mailer. I'd also like to draw your attention to the estimated million foals, as in not necessarily accurate and without a time frame.