Progesterex
Encyclopedia
Progesterex is a fictitious date rape drug
that would purportedly cause sterilization. It is part of a hoax
that began to circulate in 1999 via e-mail
on the internet
. No actual drug by this name or even with these properties exists, and no such incident has ever been documented or confirmed. The most high profile person falling for the hoax was British MP Lynne Featherstone
who asked a question about the fake drug in Parliament.
are as follows, although different versions tend to turn up over time:
while mares are usually left unaltered.
A version of this hoax also made the rounds via bulletins on MySpace
, Bebo
, Facebook
, and Tagged and in the form of a group named "Heads Up Ladies".
According to the Spanish language website VSAntirus.com at least two versions in Spanish have made the rounds since 2001 as well.
The person who started this hoax was questioned by the FBI during his senior year of college due to his creating a dummy website for the "ordering" of Progesterex. The FBI believed that he used the website to obtain credit card information fraudulently, but it was simply created to supplement the validity of the hoax.
A Swedish and later Norwegian version circulated 2008–2009 with a signature of Birgitta Olofsson, Dr Med in nursing science of Umeå University.
Lynne Featherstone
submitted a Written Question to the Home Secretary
on whether the Home Office had calculated the number of date rape
incidences that had been connected with Progesterex. Home Office Minister Paul Goggins
replied that "Progesterex does not exist".
Featherstone criticised the government stating they "need to do more to discover the unearthly monster who sends them out" and that "their cavalier attitude will not do." However, critics such as fellow Liberal Democrat James Graham castigated Featherstone's conduct in "criticising the Home Office for not having a response to made up drugs and made up crimes", stating "trivialising rape in this way without bothering to do basic research first doesn’t help anybody".
Many see the incident as having strong parallels with a previous case where MP David Amess
asked a question in Parliament about a fictitious drug called "Cake".
Date rape drug
A date rape drug is any drug that can be used to assist in the execution of a sexual assault, such as date rape. Drugs used to facilitate rape may have sedative, hypnotic, dissociative, and/or amnesiac effects, and can be added to a food or drink without the victim's knowledge.The act of adding...
that would purportedly cause sterilization. It is part of a hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
that began to circulate in 1999 via e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
on the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. No actual drug by this name or even with these properties exists, and no such incident has ever been documented or confirmed. The most high profile person falling for the hoax was British MP Lynne Featherstone
Lynne Featherstone
Lynne Choona Featherstone , is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and the Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green....
who asked a question about the fake drug in Parliament.
Email contents
Typical contents of the e-mail hoaxHoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
are as follows, although different versions tend to turn up over time:
Debunking
There is no sterilization pill under any name that exists for sterilizing horses. Sterilization of male horses is performed surgicallyGelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
while mares are usually left unaltered.
Notable examples
A version of this e-mail was translated and round in Brazil in 2008–2009.A version of this hoax also made the rounds via bulletins on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, Bebo
Bebo
Bebo is a social networking website launched in July 2005. It is currently owned and operated by Criterion Capital Partners after taking over from AOL in June 2010....
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, and Tagged and in the form of a group named "Heads Up Ladies".
According to the Spanish language website VSAntirus.com at least two versions in Spanish have made the rounds since 2001 as well.
The person who started this hoax was questioned by the FBI during his senior year of college due to his creating a dummy website for the "ordering" of Progesterex. The FBI believed that he used the website to obtain credit card information fraudulently, but it was simply created to supplement the validity of the hoax.
A Swedish and later Norwegian version circulated 2008–2009 with a signature of Birgitta Olofsson, Dr Med in nursing science of Umeå University.
UK Parliament incident
On 18 April 2006 UK Member of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Lynne Featherstone
Lynne Featherstone
Lynne Choona Featherstone , is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and the Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green....
submitted a Written Question to the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
on whether the Home Office had calculated the number of date rape
Date rape
"Date rape", often referred to as acquaintance rape, is an assault or attempted assault usually committed by a new acquaintance involving sexual intercourse without mutual consent....
incidences that had been connected with Progesterex. Home Office Minister Paul Goggins
Paul Goggins
Paul Gerard Goggins is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Wythenshawe and Sale East since 1997, and was a Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office.-Early life:...
replied that "Progesterex does not exist".
Featherstone criticised the government stating they "need to do more to discover the unearthly monster who sends them out" and that "their cavalier attitude will not do." However, critics such as fellow Liberal Democrat James Graham castigated Featherstone's conduct in "criticising the Home Office for not having a response to made up drugs and made up crimes", stating "trivialising rape in this way without bothering to do basic research first doesn’t help anybody".
Many see the incident as having strong parallels with a previous case where MP David Amess
David Amess
David Anthony Andrew Amess is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1983, first for Basildon, and since 1997 for Southend West.-Early life:...
asked a question in Parliament about a fictitious drug called "Cake".