Trump Administration Destroying Birth Control: What We Know

The Trump administration may have destroyed almost $10 million worth of taxpayer-funded birth control and other contraceptives that were meant for women in low-income countries.

The vast amount of products would have provided pregnancy protection for more than 1.5 million women for between 1 and ten years, Guttmacher Institute researcher Chelsea Polis said in an interview with CNN in July.

While The New York Times reported that the contraceptives had been destroyed last week, citing a statement from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the next day, it reported that Belgian authorities had found the contraceptives were still there.

Newsweek has contacted the U.S. State Department and the Belgian foreign ministry via email or comment.

Why It Matters

Family planning assistance from the U.S. government usually helps more than 47 million women and couples every year, preventing 8.1 million unintended pregnancies, 5.2 million unsafe abortions and 34,000 maternal deaths, according to U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio in July urging him to reverse the decision to burn the supplies.

Many of the women and couples supported by the U.S. government’s support are those living in crisis, many of them in war zones and refugee camps.

According to the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), 77 percent of the products were designated to go to five African nations: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Mali.

What To Know

After President Donald Trump dismantled USAID and froze foreign aid at the start of this year, a large quantity of contraceptives, valued at £9.7 million, was left in a warehouse in Belgium.

In July, sources told Reuters that the supplies were being sent to a facility that handles medical waste in France, under the direction of the Trump administration, to be destroyed, which the U.S. State Department confirmed would cost $167,000.

The supply destined to be destroyed included contraceptive implants and pills as well as intrauterine devices to help prevent unwanted pregnancies, although a spokesperson told Reuters that no condoms or HIV medications would be incinerated.

The decision to destroy the supply was reportedly taken because the State Department could not sell the products to any “eligible buyers,” a spokesperson for the department told the Guardian.

The U.S. currently prohibits sending any American aid to organizations that provide, advocate or educate about abortion services, and the State Department, in a statement to NPR, said the contraceptives, which work before fertilization to prevent pregnancy, were “abortifacient (causing premature termination) birth control commodities.”

According to Reuters, the Belgian foreign ministry also said in July that “all possible options to prevent the destruction, including temporary relocation” had been explored in talks between Brussels and the U.S.

“Despite these efforts, and with full respect for our partners, no viable alternative could be secured. Nevertheless, Belgium continues to actively seek solutions to avoid this regrettable outcome,” the ministry said in a statement to the news outlet.

“Sexual and reproductive health must not be subject to ideological constraints,” it added.

These products were due to expire between April 2027 and September 2031, according to an internal document listing the warehouse stocks, verified by three sources, Reuters reported.

Per the outlet, Sarah Shaw, Associate Director of Advocacy at MSI Reproductive Choices, had volunteered for the organization to pay for the supplies to be repackaged without USAID branding and shipped to countries in need. The offer was declined by the U.S. government.

Shaw told Reuters: “MSI offered to pay for repackaging, shipping and import duties but they were not open to that … We were told that the U.S. government would only sell the supplies at the full market value.”

“This is clearly not about saving money. It feels more like an ideological assault on reproductive rights, and one that is already harming women,” she added.

What People Are Saying

Polis told NPR in July: “These are essential, lifesaving supplies that would have supported reproductive autonomy and prevented unsafe abortions and maternal deaths—being wasted and destroyed at U.S. taxpayers’ expense, despite offers from global partners to distribute them to women and families in need.”

Avril Benoît, CEO of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) USA, said in a statement in July: “Contraceptives are essential and lifesaving health products. 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. The U.S. government’s decision to incinerate millions of dollars’ worth of contraceptives is an intentionally reckless and harmful act against women and girls everywhere.”

Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry, Africa Regional Director of IPPF said in a statement in August: “This decision to destroy ready-to-use commodities is appalling and extremely wasteful. These life-saving medical supplies were destined to countries where access to reproductive care is already limited, and in some cases, part of a broader humanitarian response, such as in the DRC. The choice to incinerate them is unjustifiable and undermines efforts to protect the health and rights of women and girls.”

What Happens Next

It is currently unclear if the products have been incinerated at this point in time, given that a spokesperson for the Flemish minister told the New York Times “no cargoes had been diverted for incineration,” despite the U.S. State Department informing the outlet the supplies had been destroyed.