The Trump administration has destroyed birth control pills and other contraceptives, valued at about $9.7 million, destined for people in low-income countries, despite several international organizations, including the Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, having offered to buy or accept a donation, according to the New York Times. . On Thursday, a spokeswoman for USAID, which is now being wound down by Russell Vought, the head of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said in a statement to The Times that the contraceptives had been destroyed, and falsely suggested that they induced abortion.“President Trump is committed to protecting the lives of unborn children all around the world,” the statement said. “The administration will no longer supply abortifacient birth control under the guise of foreign aid.”By law USAID is barred from procuring abortifacients. None of the products in Belgium were abortifacients, according to inventory lists obtained by The Times. Hormonal implants and similar items prevent pregnancy by stopping ovulation or fertilization. Staff had repeatedly made this clear to State Department officials, the documents show. Officials have not said exactly when or where the destruction took place.“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, an organization that had repeatedly offered to take over the distribution of the supplies rather than see them destroyed.“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,” she said.In February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio took over USAID, which was established in the 1960s under a Congressional mandate, and began its closure — a long-standing goal of several top Trump aides. Remaining foreign-aid contracts were shifted to the State Department. Staff from the “Department of Government Efficiency,” a group formed by Elon Musk, were sent to manage the process. The destruction order came in June from Jeremy Lewin, the State Department’s senior official for foreign assistance, humanitarian affairs and religious freedom. In an email, he told staff to arrange the destruction as “the cheapest option that best reflects the administration’s significant concerns with funding these activities.” Belgian officials tried to block the incineration. Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot wrote to Mr. Rubio to intervene, and authorities in Flanders sought to invoke a legal ban on burning still-usable medical products. These efforts appeared to delay the incineration; by late July the stockpile had not been burned. On July 31, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the agency was still “determining the way forward.” As of this week, Flemish officials still had not been notified and were exploring reuse options. USAID staff had informed the administration that seven organizations were willing to take some or all of the products and cover storage, shipping and distribution costs. A draft memo from veteran USAID staff recommended selling the stock to the U.N. Population Fund to recover at least $7 million at no cost to taxpayers. Other options included selling to or donating the products to other groups. That memo warned destruction would mean “a loss of $9.9 M in USG funding” plus $167,000 in costs. Political appointees, however, produced a different memo urging destruction “due to the absence of eligible buyers” and to comply with an administration directive halting support to groups accused of coercive reproductive practices. Fourteen minutes after receiving that memo, Mr. Lewin ordered the destruction. Former USAID staff now in the State Department organized it. Deputy chief of staff Clint Branam wrote to colleagues, “I understand this likely wasn’t the outcome you’d hoped for and it’s contentious, but Jeremy said it best reflects the administration’s significant concerns with funding these activities.” Officials cited rules blocking aid to overseas NGOs involved in abortion access under a reinstated Trump policy. USAID staff proposed donation channels they said did not conflict with that policy, but the documents show concern that a sale “could appear to be in conflict with administration priorities and attract external scrutiny.” In August, Rubio transferred the remnants of USAID to Mr. Vought to oversee its final shutdown. On Thursday, the State Department referred questions to USAID.
