In July, multiple outlets reported that, as part of Trump’s plan to end foreign aid, they were going to destroy nearly $10 million worth of IUDs and birth control implants if they couldn’t find a buyer. The move, which was a part of DOGE’s gutting of the Agency for International Development, or USAID, would have cost taxpayers $167,000. If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because the U.S. also burned 500 tons of food aid—also meant to be distributed by USAID—in July, which cost taxpayers $130,000.
In September, the administration told the New York Times that they had incinerated the birth control methods—then, the next day, the paper reported that the administration had lied and that Belgian authorities confirmed the stockpile was still in their warehouse. Recent reporting from CNN suggests the administration may be intentionally ignoring the matter, since most of the more than five million items are set to expire in 2028 or 2029, with some as early as 2027.
“This is further proof of the Trump administration’s disdain for women in the U.S. and around the world,” Rachana Desai Martin, CFRR’s Chief U.S. Program Officer, told Jezebel in a statement. “Intentionally withholding contraception from people in need is not only the epitome of government waste, but also needlessly cruel.”
The Center said they filed a FOIA request to the administration on August 29, seeking clarification on the actual decision, if they pursued alternative solutions to just setting it all on fire, and whether they were influenced by any anti-abortion organizations.
At the time of “burning,” Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought (and the architect of Project 2025) said the reason the administration would rather not disperse these very necessary resources to women in countries that could really use them was that “President Trump is committed to protecting the lives of unborn children all around the world.” So…not the lives of women. The contraceptives that were meant for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Mali could prevent up to 1.5 million unintended pregnancies, 644,000 unplanned births, 440,000 unsafe abortions, and 2,872 maternal deaths, according to CFRR. But I guess there’s no low low enough.
“Every American should be up in arms that their tax money was used to buy essential medical supplies that are now willfully being wasted,” Martin says. “We are talking about supplies that could save lives—especially in countries where maternal health care is woefully lacking.”
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