US Incinerates $10M in Birth Control

Nearly $10 million in contraceptives—including birth control pills, intrauterine devices, and hormonal implants—were destroyed on orders of Trump administration officials, according to the US Agency for International Development. The products, purchased before USAID's recent dismantling, had been stored in a Belgian warehouse for months after the State Department decided contraception was not "lifesaving" and halted US funding for such items in low-income countries, reports the New York Times. It's not clear when or where the incineration took place.

Internal documents obtained by the Times reveal that groups like the Gates Foundation had offered to buy or receive the contraceptives, which could have recouped some taxpayer money. The administration opted instead for destruction—a process that cost $167,000. A USAID spokesperson, echoing the administration's anti-abortion stance, claimed that the products were "abortifacient birth control," a description contradicted by inventory lists and veteran health officials.

By law, USAID can't procure abortifacients, but the destroyed devices primarily worked by preventing pregnancy, not terminating it. The Hill notes that lawmakers and activists from both the US and EU made a push in recent weeks to try to block the destruction of the contraceptives. Belgian and Flemish authorities in particular tried to stop the incineration, per the Times, even seeking legal avenues to prevent the destruction of still-usable medical supplies.

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Despite these efforts and ongoing interest from international organizations willing to cover distribution costs, the Trump administration ordered the destruction in June, citing policy concerns and a lack of "eligible buyers." About three-quarters of the destroyed inventory had been set to go to five countries in Africa, per the Hill: Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Mali, and Congo. "It's a death sentence that's written in policy," says Nabeeha Kazi Hutchins, CEO of reproductive health rights group PAI, adding that the stockpile was "not even close to being expired." Doctors Without Borders and the MSI United States nonprofit had noted expiration dates between 2027 and 2031, per NPR.