New lawsuit seeks answers around the administration’s decision to destroy at least $10 million dollars of U.S.- purchased contraceptives

The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit today against the U.S. Department of State for refusing to provide information about its plans to destroy at least $10 million of unexpired, taxpayer-funded contraceptives meant for low-income countries. The Center is asking a court to order the Trump administration to release all internal communications related to the contraceptives and their plans to destroy them. The lawsuit comes after the administration failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by the Center earlier this year.

“Intentionally withholding contraception from people in need is not only the epitome of government waste, but also needlessly cruel,” said Rachana Desai Martin, Chief U.S. Program Officer at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “This is further proof of the Trump administration’s disdain for women in the US and around the world. We are demanding all records related to this senseless decision. Every American should be up in arms that their tax money was used to buy essential medical supplies that are now willfully being wasted. We are talking about supplies that could save lives—especially in countries where maternal health care is woefully lacking.”

The stockpile, which contains birth control pills, intrauterine devices, and other implants or injectables, has been stranded in Belgium since the Trump administration slashed U.S. foreign aid programming earlier this year. It was initially valued at $9.7 million, but recent reports suggest it could be much larger.

The supplies were set to be distributed in five African countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Mali. Maternal mortality remains a critical challenge throughout much of the continent – failure to deliver these supplies could lead to 362,000 unintended pregnancies, 110,000 unsafe abortions, and 718 preventable maternal deaths.

The Trump administration originally planned to incinerate the medication – at an additional taxpayer cost of approximately $167,000 – but was prevented from doing so by Belgian regulations. Multiple aid groups and the Belgian government offered to purchase and distribute the contraceptives but the US rejected these offers. Many suspect the administration will let the supplies waste away and expire since they currently face challenges in burning them.

Administration officials have supplied conflicting reports and false information about the status and contents of the stockpile, including claiming that the contraceptives had been destroyed when they had not been.  Belgian officials recently reported that twenty truckloads of additional supplies have been found – many of which are already unable to be used.

Concerningly, the administration has incorrectly referred to the supplies as “abortifacient birth control,” even though the stockpile does not contain any abortion-inducing drugs. The Center’s FOIA request seeks records containing information about the decision to destroy the contraceptives; the costs of storage, transportation, and destruction of the supplies; details of offers that were made to purchase the supplies; and any communications on the mischaracterization of the stockpile contents as so-called “abortifacient birth control.”

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Center for Reproductive Rights: [email protected]