Trump admin orders destruction of contraceptives earmarked for aid
The Trump administration reportedly has ordered the destruction of nearly $10 million in birth control pills and other contraceptives meant for people in impoverished countries. The pills, intrauterine devices and hormonal implants were purchased by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) before the agency was largely shuttered earlier this year.
Citing an announcement from USAID, The New York Times reported the items had already been destroyed. But on Friday, Belgian officials told Reuters that the destruction has yet to happen and the items remain in a warehouse.
The products have been in storage in Belgium for months reportedly because the Trump administration, arguing that the contraceptives are not “lifesaving,” has decided the U.S. would stop distributing birth control in impoverished countries.
Organizations offered to buy or receive items
Internal State Department and USAID files obtained by the Times reveal that several groups, including the Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, had offered to purchase or obtain the contraceptives through donations.
According to the Times, the offer would have cost the government nothing and could have actually saved money. The State Department says incinerating the products will cost around $167,000.
The Belgian government has also attempted to halt the incineration of birth control pills and other contraceptives.
Trump administration claimed some items induced abortions
A Trump administration spokesperson suggested to the Times that the products could have been used to induce abortions.
“President Trump is committed to protecting the lives of the unborn children all around the world,” the spokesperson said. “The administration will no longer supply abortifacient birth control under the guise of foreign aid.”
However, federal law bars USAID from obtaining abortifacients, and the Times found that none of the items in the Belgian warehouse were abortion-inducing drugs. Instead, the products prevent pregnancy by blocking either ovulation or fertilization.
The incineration of the products was requested in June. Jeremy Lewin, the State Department official who ordered the move, said it was “the cheapest option that best reflects the administration’s significant concerns with funding these activities.”
Critics respond to report
An official of an international non-governmental organization that provides contraceptives and abortion services in 37 countries strongly criticized the administration’s decision.
“The deliberate destruction of nearly $10 million worth of contraceptives, under the blatantly false pretense that they were abortifacients, is an outrageous act of cruelty,” Beth Schlachter, director of U.S. external relations for MSI Reproductive Choices, told the Times.
“This decision will cost lives, derail progress in global health and strip millions of people of the basic tools they need to plan their families and protect their health,” she added.
Reuters quoted Belgian officials on Friday saying that an inspection of the warehouse where the items are stored showed that no shipments had been removed for destruction.
Officials said a request from the United States for incineration would be needed to destroy the items, but that has not yet happened.
The Trump administration has yet to comment on the Reuters report.
The products are reportedly set to expire between April 2027 and September 2031.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
