$10 Million in Contraceptives Have Been Destroyed on Orders From Trump Officials
The birth control pills, IUDs and hormonal implants were purchased by U.S.A.I.D. for women in low-income countries. They had been in limbo in a Belgian warehouse after the U.S. cut much of its foreign aid.
The Trump administration oversaw the destruction of nearly $10 million worth of contraceptives intended for low-income countries, according to documents released by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Thursday.
The stockpile, which included birth control pills, intrauterine devices, and hormonal implants, had been purchased by USAID before the agency was largely dismantled earlier this year. Valued at about $9.7 million, the supplies were stored in a Belgian warehouse for months after the State Department determined that contraception was not “lifesaving” and announced the U.S. would stop funding such products abroad.
Internal documents obtained by The New York Times reveal that international organizations, including the Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, had offered to buy or accept the contraceptives as donations. Under those arrangements, the U.S. government could have avoided disposal costs or even recouped taxpayer money. Instead, officials opted for destruction, an operation estimated to cost $167,000.
In a statement to The Times, a USAID spokeswoman—speaking on behalf of Russell Vought, who is overseeing the agency’s closure—confirmed that the products had been destroyed. The statement falsely characterized the contraceptives as abortion-inducing drugs, asserting: “President Trump is committed to protecting the lives of unborn children all around the world. The administration will no longer supply abortifacient birth control under the guise of foreign aid.”
USAID is legally barred from purchasing abortifacients, and inventory records show that none of the items destroyed met that definition. The supplies, including hormonal implants, were designed to prevent ovulation or fertilization—not to terminate pregnancies. According to internal correspondence, staff repeatedly clarified this distinction to State Department officials.
Advocacy groups reacted with outrage. “The deliberate destruction of nearly $10 million worth of contraceptives, under the blatantly false pretense that they are abortifacients, is an outrageous act of cruelty,” said Beth Schlachter, director of U.S. external relations for MSI Reproductive Choices, which had offered to distribute the supplies. “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.”
The decision came amid sweeping changes to America’s foreign aid programs. In February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio took control of USAID, an agency established in the 1960s under Congressional mandate, and initiated its closure. Remaining contracts were transferred to the State Department, while officials from the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, created by Elon Musk, were dispatched to manage the process.
The order to destroy the contraceptives was issued in June by Jeremy Lewin, the State Department’s senior official for foreign assistance, humanitarian affairs, and religious freedom. In an internal email, Lewin instructed staff to arrange for destruction as “the cheapest option that best reflects the administration’s significant concerns with funding these activities.”
It remains unclear when or where the destruction took place, and administration officials declined to provide further comment.