More than 70 reproductive groups are asking the Trump administration to call off the planned destruction of roughly $10 million of usable birth control products.
Planned Parenthood is leading the most recent charge to save the contraceptives and sent a letter Friday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio with 77 co-signers.
In the letter, the groups write that they “strongly oppose” the administration’s “cruel and wasteful” decision to incinerate the commodities.
“These supplies are safe, effective, and wanted,” the letter reads.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) purchased $9.7 million worth of birth control pills, hormonal implants, shots and intrauterine devices to distribute in low-income countries before the Trump administration dismantled the agency earlier this year.
The stockpile has sat in a warehouse in Belgium for months since the Trump administration cut all support for international family planning programs.
Since then, some health organizations have tried to purchase the supplies since they are still usable and not set to expire until at least 2027. But the Trump administration has refused multiple offers and committed to spending $167,000 to incinerate the products at a medical waste facility in France.
Trump officials said over the summer the supplies were scheduled to be destroyed in July, but it was unclear at the time if this happened.
The Department of State did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.
A spokesperson for the State Department told The Hill in August that the agency made a preliminary decision to destroy abortifacients in the supplies, even though multiple nonprofits and sources with knowledge of the supplies say there is nothing that can induce an abortion in the stockpile.
The New York Times reported Thursday that the supplies had been destroyed, but USAID retracted its statement after Belgian officials reported that the supplies had yet to be incinerated.
The letter notes that most of the birth control supplies were meant to go to women and girls in five African countries, including those “fleeing conflict or unable to afford care.”
“Right now, women and girls around the world are desperately seeking out contraception and facing empty shelves,” the letter reads. “Meanwhile, this administration is choosing to spend taxpayer dollars to destroy effective health and medical supplies that are wanted and needed and that could save and transform lives.”
Some nonprofits estimate that incinerating the products could leave 1.4 million women and girls across Africa without access to life-saving care.
“It is not too late to do the right thing,” the letter adds. “The administration must immediately halt plans to destroy these contraceptive supplies. We urge you to do everything you can to ensure lifesaving commodities, including contraception, reach people in need.”
