France, EU urged to prevent destruction of USAID contraceptives 

Lawmakers and NGOs are pressuring Paris and Brussels to intervene and prevent the incineration of nearly $10 million worth of contraceptives owned by the defunded U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program.

The contraceptives, which are currently being stored in Belgium and are set to be destroyed in France, will not be distributed as initially planned due to the reinstatement of a U.S. policy that prohibits sending aid to organizations that provide abortion services, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told the Guardian in July.

“We are asking the European Commission to intervene,” Mélissa Camara, a French Green MEP who sent a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about this case told POLITICO on Friday.

“The European Union must speak out strongly, saying that defending women’s rights and sexual and reproductive rights around the world is one of the fundamental values it upholds,” she said.

The U.S. is “still in the process of determining the way forward” about the contraceptives, State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on Thursday.

“We’re not talking about contraceptives in terms of condoms,” Pigott said, claiming that the products being held were “potentially … abortifacients” — substances which can induce an abortion — that were purchased under former President Joe Biden’s administration and could violate the so-called Mexico City Policy.

The Mexico City Policy — named after the place it was announced — forbids U.S. aid from being sent to abortion providers. It was reinstated by President Donald Trump in January.

The contraceptives are primarily long-acting, such as IUDs and birth control implants, according to the Guardian report.

Camara’s letter comes amid growing concern in France, a country which enshrined the right to have an abortion in its constitution last year.

Marine Tondelier, the leader of the French Greens, penned an open letter addressed to President Emmanuel Macron, stressing that France could not be “complicit, even indirectly, of retrograde policies, nor can it tolerate that vital medical resources be destroyed when they could save lives, prevent unwanted pregnancies and contribute to greater autonomy for women.”

The contraceptives are primarily long-acting, such as IUDs and birth control implants, according to the Guardian report. | Francis Malasig/EPA

In a written response sent to POLITICO, a French diplomatic official said Paris would “continue to monitor the situation” and back efforts from Belgium to “find a solution to prevent the destruction of contraceptives, so that they can reach the women and men who need them and are waiting for them around the world.”

Belgium’s Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Prévot told the AFP newswire that his government had “initiated diplomatic talks with the U.S. Embassy in Brussels” and is currently “exploring all possible avenues to prevent the destruction of these products, including temporary relocation solutions.”

A European Commission spokesperson said they had “taken note of [Camara’s] letter and acknowledge the concerns raised.”

The spokesperson also underlined that NGOs and international organizations including United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and MSI Reproductive Choices had made an offer to the U.S. to pick up the contraceptives, “though without result so far.”

Pressure has been mounting over the past two weeks, with civil societies and international organizations condemning the decision as “unconscionable.”

“Contraceptives are essential and lifesaving health products,” Avril Benoît, CEO of Médecins Sans Frontières in the U.S., said in a statement. “The U.S. government’s decision to incinerate millions of dollars’ worth of contraceptives is an intentionally reckless and harmful act against women and girls everywhere.”

The International Planned Parenthood Federation also said they had offered to collect the products in Belgium and transport them to its warehouse in the Netherlands, to then distribute them across the globe.

“It’s the height of hypocrisy for a government to preach efficiency and cutting waste, only to turn around and recklessly destroy life-saving supplies when the need has never been greater,” said Micah Grzywnowicz, regional director of IPPF European Network. “This isn’t just inefficient — it’s unconscionable.”

Trump moved to dismantle USAID shortly after his January inauguration, scrapping over 80 percent of its programs. Leaders of international health NGOs previously urged the EU to step up to protect lifesaving health initiatives amid what they see as a “moment of reckoning” amid Washington’s cuts to foreign aid.