#premarin

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…

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.

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.

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