A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department confirmed last week to Reuters that U.S.-funded contraceptives designated for poor nations, worth $9.7 million, will be burned in France, and that the American government will spend $167,000 to incinerate the stock.
Following President Donald Trump‘s decision to freeze U.S. foreign aid in January, the supplies — contraceptive implants, pills and intrauterine devices (IUDs) — have been stored in a warehouse in Belgium. They are not due to expire until April 2027. (Some products have expiration dates as late as September 2031.)
According to the Reuters report, “Washington rejected offers from the United Nations and family planning organizations to buy or ship the supplies to poor nations.”
Secretary Rubio claimed there was no impediment to moving aid—yet they’re literally burning assistance already purchased by American taxpayers instead of distributing them to those who need them.
THIS is what actual government waste looks like.https://t.co/9IvnhxSdyQ
— House Foreign Affairs Committee Dems (@HouseForeign) July 25, 2025
The X account of the Democrats serving on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee is amplifying the Reuters report on social media. The Foreign Affairs Dems added: “Secretary Rubio claimed there was no impediment to moving aid—yet they’re literally burning assistance already purchased by American taxpayers instead of distributing them to those who need them. THIS is what actual government waste looks like.”
Sarah Shaw, Associate Director of Advocacy at MSI Reproductive Choices, one of the world’s leading providers of sexual and reproductive healthcare based in London, UK, said of the U.S. government’s decision to burn non-expired contraception supplies: “This is clearly not about saving money. It feels more like an ideological assault on reproductive rights, and one that is already harming women.”
Note: In the video below, MSI reports that it will continue to provide women “the contraception and abortion care they need to choose their path in life.”
Before the sun rises, our teams are already on the move. Crossing rivers and driving through deserts, so women can get the contraception and abortion care they need to choose their path in life.
Thank you to our frontline teams who go further every day so women can #ChooseChoice pic.twitter.com/nNgKaIUBhU
— MSI Reproductive Choices (@MSIchoices) July 25, 2024
NOTE: It’s not only contraceptive-based aid that has been withheld and then destroyed. (Such aid is considered controversial by some conservatives who may consider its destruction a victory in the culture wars, where birth control itself is a wedge issue.)
Food aid has also been reportedly destroyed by the administration, which withheld delivery long enough to see expirations dates reached. The Atlantic reported earlier this month that “nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food” or “enough to feed about 1.5 million children for a week” — originally meant for distribution in Pakistan and Afghanistan — was being sent to the incinerator.