The Trump administration is gearing up to destroy $9.7 million worth of contraceptives purchased by the country rather than deliver them to women overseas. This move follows the dismantling of foreign assistance programs that are fulfilled by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Trump administration will be destroying $9.7 million worth of US-purchased contraceptives over delivering the viable resources to women overseas. This move comes after the administration dismantled foreign assistance programs that are fulfilled through the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
According to a State Department spokesperson, the “preliminary decision” to destroy the USAID-procured birth control is confirmed and will cost $167,000 to incinerate them. The contraceptives themselves have been storied in a warehouse in Geel, Belgium, and the Belgium foreign ministry stated that they were involved in “diplomatic talks” with the US embassy to find alternative solutions.
Tammy Bruce, a State Department spokesperson, stated that the definitive nature of the contraceptives destruction is a “situation that changed each day.”
“We recognize the issues, but we also, of course, are committed to policy that Americans care about,” she said.
A US congressional aide recently told CNN that the contraceptives are mainly long-lasting kinds of birth control like IUDs and injectables, and it’s not yet clear when the supplies will be destroyed.
“They have to double incinerate the products because they contain high levels of hormones and they don’t want to risk leaking the byproducts out in the environment, which likely adds to the cost. The Trump administration is quite literally burning taxpayer money.”
CNN was also given a list of the supplies showing that the contraceptives include copper IUDs, rod implants, birth control injections, and levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol tablets. Most of these products expire in 2028 or 2029, and the earliest expiration date is reported to be April 2027, according to the list which included around 5 million items.
The US State Department spokesperson said that the contraceptives were being destroyed as “certain abortifacient birth control commodities from terminated Biden-era USAID contracts.”
Abortifacient is a term used to describe contraceptives that “cause abortion,” and there’s been controversy and debate whether this description fits for this specific situation.
“Only a limited number of commodities have been approved for disposal. No HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed,” the spokesperson added.
“USAID avoided an additional $34.1 million in taxpayer costs by negotiating no-cost cancellations of pending orders placed under the Biden Administration.”
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) told CNN that there is “no such thing as an abortifacient contraceptive.”
“By definition, contraceptives prevent pregnancy – not end a pregnancy. IUDs and other forms of birth control do not cause abortion, and any suggestion otherwise is misinformation,” ACOG said.
Media reports have suggested that the contraceptives will be transferred to a French medical waste facility to be destroyed. In response, a diplomatic source in France told CNN that the supplies were being handled by private entities.
“We firmly support the Belgian authorities’ commitment to find a solution in order to prevent the destruction of these contraceptives, so that they may reach women and men around the world who need them and are waiting for them,” the diplomatic source stated.
“Access to quality sexual and reproductive health services and products is both a human rights and a public health issue.”
US Senator Jeanne Shaheen recently sent a staff member to the warehouse in Belgium as part of her effort to prohibit “the destruction of any such commodities unless all efforts to sell or donate them have been exhausted.”
Shaheen said in a statement: “Food and family planning commodities are desperately needed in conflict affected countries, like Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo where famine is taking hold.”
“At a moment when the Trump administration has made devastating cuts to foreign assistance it is disappointing that the State Department would sign off on spending money to actually destroy paid-for commodities that would save lives and are waiting to be deployed.”
Florinda Baleci, a Belgian foreign ministry spokesperson, told the media that the nation was “exploring all possible avenues to prevent the destruction of these stocks, including their temporary relocation.”
MSI Reproductive Choices and other funding partners said that they even offered to pay for the shipping, repackaging, and redistribution of the USAID-branded supplies, but the US government denied that offer.
“We were not given a reason for why this offer was not accepted, but it became clear in conversations that it wouldn’t be and that our efforts would be better spent finding alternative solutions to the contraception supplies gap,” said Grace Dunne, a spokeswoman for MSI.
MSI works throughout 36 nations to provide reproductive healthcare like contraception access, maternity care, and abortion services.
When speaking about the offer from MSI, the State Department emphasized what’s known as the “Mexico City policy,” which “prohibits providing certain assistance – directly or indirectly – to foreign nongovernmental organizations that perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning.”
The policy itself prevents non-government organizations that provide abortions, give counseling about abortions, or advocate for safe options from receiving funding. Doctors Without Border (MSF) has been raising concerns over the destruction plans as there are multiple nations experiencing contraception shortages, and those same countries were, in the past, dependent on supplies from USAID.
“In the communities served by MSF – whether impacted by conflict, disease outbreaks, natural and human-made disasters, or exclusion from health care – access to contraceptives is already constrained,” the organization said in a statement.
“Contexts that previously relied upon USAID funded contraceptive supplies are at a heightened risk of supply chain disruptions and stockouts.”
“MSF has seen firsthand the positive health benefits when women and girls can freely make their own health decisions by choosing to prevent or delay pregnancy – and the dangerous consequences when they cannot,” Avril Benoît, the chief executive of MSF USA, said.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
