U.S. To Destroy Nearly $10 Million In Contraceptives Meant For Women Overseas

Offers by organizations to buy the supplies, which were purchased for women in low-income countries, were reportedly rejected.

The State Department plans to destroy $9.7 million worth of unused, taxpayer-funded contraceptives intended for women in low-income countries after the Trump administration dismantled an array of humanitarian aid and development programs to save money.

The U.S. will spend $167,000 to incinerate the contraceptives, which include intrauterine devices (IUDs), implants and pills, rather than give them to the overseas crisis zones and refugee camps they were meant for, NPR, CNN and The Guardian reported.

The decision follows the Trump administration defunding the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), canceling thousands of contracts and firing thousands of government employees as a means to cut federal spending and prioritize President Donald Trump’s America First foreign policy initiative.

A representative with the State Department, which absorbed USAID, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

There were offers by organizations to buy the supplies, but these offers were rejected, reportedly due to U.S. laws and rules that prohibit the sale to organizations that provide abortion services, counsel people about the procedure or advocate for the right to it overseas, a state department spokesperson told The Guardian.