Lawmakers and activists in Europe and the United States are fighting against the State Department from destroying nearly $10 million worth of contraceptives funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contraceptives have been in a warehouse in Belgium for months after President Trump froze all U.S foreign aid and shuttered USAID earlier this year. Nabeeha Kazi Hutchins, president and CEO of reproductive health rights group PAI, said that the contraceptives are not even close to being expired. The United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, tried to buy the contraceptives but was rejected. The government of Belgium has tried to appeal to the U.S. Embassy in Brussels to protect the contraceptives. Democratic lawmakers have introduced two bills to force Secretary of State Marco Rubio to ensure that food supplies and contraceptives are sent to their intended beneficiaries before they expire. French family planning activists have rallied to try to stop the destruction of the contraceptives, and left-leaning French politicians have urged President Emmanuel Macron to intervene and take control of the stockpile. The earliest that any of the contraceptives in the stockpile are set to expire is in 2027, according to the International Planned Parenthood Federation.
The US is fighting to prevent the destruction of $10 million worth of contraceptives. Mr.PopZit 1608
