US to burn $9.7 million worth of USAID-purchased contraceptives rather than deliver them to women overseas
The Trump administration is set to destroy $9.7 million worth of US-purchased contraceptives rather than deliver them to women overseas, following the dismantling of foreign assistance programs carried out by the US Agency for International Development, or USAID.
The “preliminary decision” to destroy the USAID-procured birth control was confirmed by a State Department spokesperson, who said the cost of incinerating them would be $167,000.
The contraceptives have been housed in a warehouse in Geel, Belgium. The Belgian foreign ministry said it was engaged in diplomatic talks with the US embassy to work to find alternative solutions for the supplies.
Asked about whether the contraceptives will definitely be destroyed, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on Tuesday that it is a “situation that changes each day.”
“We recognize the issues, but we also, of course, are committed to policy that Americans care about,” she said at a briefing.
The contraceptives are mostly long-lasting types of birth control, such as intrauterine devices (IUDs) and injectables, a US congressional aide told CNN. It is not clear exactly when the supplies will be destroyed, according to the aide.
“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 congressional aide said. “The Trump administration is quite literally burning taxpayer money.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/29/europe/usaid-contraceptives-burn-belgium-france-intl
A list of the supplies, shared with CNN by another source with knowledge of the warehouse stock, shows that the contraceptives include copper IUDs, rod implants, birth control injections, and levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol tablets. Some have USAID branding but the majority do not, according to the source’s list.
Most of the products expire in 2028 or 2029, with the earliest expiration date among the products in April 2027, according to the list detailing the nearly 5 million items.
The US State Department spokesperson referred to the contraceptives to be destroyed as “certain abortifacient birth control commodities from terminated Biden-era USAID contracts.”
There is controversy about whether to describe certain contraceptives as abortifacient, or causing abortion, due to the debate over whether life begins at the moment an egg is fertilized or at a later stage. Some birth control methods, including IUDs, may work by preventing implantation of a fertilized egg. However, IUDs primarily work by suppressing the release of eggs, or by preventing sperm from reaching an egg.
“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 on Tuesday.
Responding to media reports that the contraceptives were set to be transferred to a French medical waste facility to be destroyed by the end of July, a diplomatic source in France told CNN that the contraceptives were being handled by private entities and they had “no information concerning any transfers,” as of Thursday last week.
“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 added. “Access to quality sexual and reproductive health services and products is both a human rights and a public health issue.”
US Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) sent a staff member to the warehouse in Belgium as part of her effort to introduce legislation prohibiting “the destruction of any such commodities unless all efforts to sell or donate them have been exhausted.” The staffer also found that the earliest expiration date for the contraceptives was 2027, with some of the supplies not expiring until 2031, meaning they could still be used for years to come.
“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,” 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.”
Offer to purchase the supplies rejected
Belgian foreign ministry spokeswoman Florinda Baleci told CNN the country was “exploring all possible avenues to prevent the destruction of these stocks, including their temporary relocation.”
An organization called MSI Reproductive Choices said it and other funding partners had offered to pay for the shipping and repackaging of the USAID-branded supplies, but that the US government turned down the 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, which works in 36 countries to provide reproductive healthcare, including abortion services, contraception and maternity care.
In response to questions about the offer from CNN, the State Department highlighted the so-called “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.”
That policy, which opponents call the “global gag rule,” prevents non-governmental organizations that provide abortions, give counseling about abortions or advocate for safe access to abortion from receiving US funding.
The planned destruction of the contraceptives has sparked an outcry from other organizations, like Doctors Without Border (MSF), which raised concerns about contraceptive shortages in nations that were once reliant on supplies donated by USAID.
“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 chief executive of MSF USA, Avril Benoît, added.
MSF also cited reports saying that more USAID-branded contraceptives are being housed in a warehouse in the United Arab Emirates, but the organization said the US government’s plan for those supplies is unknown.
A State Department spokesperson did not address a question about contraceptives warehoused in the UAE. CNN has reached out to the UAE government for comment.
At the beginning of July, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed the end of USAID, saying that future foreign assistance programs would align with administration policies and be administered by the State Department. The rapid dismantling of USAID, led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has seen thousands of foreign assistance programs slashed, including many that focused on lifesaving work.
A study published earlier this month by a leading medical journal, The Lancet, estimated that the USAID funding cuts could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030. USAID funding was most likely to reduce mortality related to HIV/AIDS, followed by malaria, according to the study.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
>>1423219 (OP)Literally why not just deliver them and then stop at least. This is just fucking wasteful.
>>1423224Because now he can pollute America by burning a bunch of plastic.
>>1423224Because even when it doesn't benefit themselves otherwise, Republicans will actually benefit in elections from moves like this. Just deny any vulnerable group some valuable resource and don't explain why, and you get free votes.
>>1423219 (OP)Reminder that all the foreign aid cancellations literally resulted in 0 difference to how much the federal government is in debt or reduced overall spending at all. We eradicated our soft power for literally no benefit.
>>1423229Please explain how giving birth control to browns enhances our soft power
>>1423231>indebted to usUSAID was a money laundering scheme anon.
>>1423232Oh, so there ISN'T millions of contraceptives and other goods that were supposed to go out and are now being burned? So is the Trump admin just lying that those things exist and are going to be destroyed for fun then?
>>1423235Why are we paying for the birth control of the Sugandese again?
>>1423219 (OP)Bit it is fine to accept bribes. Like a $400 million plane. Anyone else see the crook being thr literal Antichrist? Religious implications aside, can anyone see the absolute corruption? All he does is for money.
>>1423236Because it is a good thing to do? I know you retards think empathy is a sin but shockingly the average person does not.
>>1423240>empathyThe government is taking my tax dollars by force and using it to pay for the space program of underdeveloped countries.
>>1423236How many nigs do you want in this world? They're not gonna stay in Africa.
>>1423224>>1423226>>1423227are you people unironic women or what? can't imagine a group of people being delusional enough to believe they need plastics and chemicals stuffed into their bodies other than women
>>1423244>I don't understand what a contraceptive isAnon I know you've never used a condom in your life due to still being a virgin but you should at least know what one is.
>>1423224Fuel costs money. Flights cost money. Staff for flights cost money.
If you want to pay for shipping, contact the gov, I'm sure they'll let you do it
>>1423248So? Distribute them here at least. Destroying them just means millions were wasted on nothing for no one. Hell I'm sure there's dozens of independent charities who'd take the supplies and deal with distribution and flights themselves.
>>1423255because they'd rather burn the money than actually help people
>>1423224>This is just fucking wastefulThe cruelty is the point.
>>1423219 (OP)I'M OUTRAGED!!1 THEY OUGHT TO APOLOGIZE!!!11
>>1423260Have they ever even said 'thank you'?
>>1423255>MSI Reproductive Choices>go to website, big popup about lack of gimmedats Bro I don't know what you want me to say here
>>1423265WTF is a "gimmedat"? Are you an adult?
>>1423265This isn't /pol/. There is a standard for argumentation on this board. If you don't like it, leave. Otherwise, you are a dysgenic self-unaware cancer here shitting your diaper and laughing at everyone else for being forced to smell it.
>>1423267Jogger-Americans begging for money.
>>1423271Nigga, the organization website is painted with pictures of BIPOC women and has a big "TRUMP IS A BIG FATTY BOOM BATTY" on the front. They were the ones profiting from USAID.
>>1423224If you think that's wasteful you should see what the military does with old equipment ... when we're not giving it to the Taliban.
>>1423294Where do you people get this shit from?
>>1423294I don't watch zogbot breitbart/fox news slop. You're going to have to provide sources.
>>1423267Look up the word on an archive or something at least damn. I'm sure you seen the word by now if you're not a perma-normie
>>1423271Nah I'd disagree. This board is just another asylum for the mentally ill and rules might as well not exist here
>>1423375When it comes to your level of indoctrination 99% of all people are perma-normies.
>>1423295It's only wasteful when orange man bad is the one doing it.
>>1423382If Obama had done it you would be crying about it still to this day.
>>1423224Because the cruelty is the point. They know that they are cunts, and they revel in it.
>>1423445Wasting money and resources to own the libs is a Trumpian tradition.
>>1423219 (OP)So Trump is encouraging white replacement with more Africans being born & coming to USA. You voted for this, white rightards that want to be replaced by the fact you enabled this to happen.
Here's your 'Fell For It Again' award, MAGAtards of /news/.
>>1423231So you admit you can not. Cool.
>>1423519He just did. Can you read?
>>1423219 (OP)Literally burning our soft power. Truly ridiculous. Wild how incompetence and malice so often look exactly the same.
Why not start over with Africa? Just kill all the niggers and recolonize it with whites? So much would be solved if turd worlders would stop reproducing like rabbits. No, don’t enslave them. Enslaving niggers was a mistake as soon as fools started giving them rights.
>>1423236Do you want their country to become overpopulated so then they come to your country?
>>1423244Youre dumber than most women i have met
>>1423251Yeah this is what i dont get. Just give the shit out around America. No point in destroying all this stuff
>>1423684Yeah, actually. And Nigerian people who immigrate to the USA are among the most financially successful immigrant groups that exist here. They come over here and start businesses, become doctors and teachers and generally just try to fit in. Unlike a lot of other groups who just take shit menial jobs for life.
>>1423707So they're black jeets, got it.
