U.S. officials had already spent nearly $10 million on contraceptives intended for low-income nations. They will never reach their intended target.
Sept. 12, 2025
By Steve Benen
Federal officials had already spent nearly $10 million on birth control pills, intrauterine devices and hormonal implants to be sent to low-income nations. As The New York Times reported, however, the products will never reach their intended destination — not because the beneficiaries no longer want the assistance, but because the Trump administration destroyed what U.S. taxpayers had already paid for.
The destruction of the millions of dollars’ worth of products itself cost roughly $167,000. The Times’ report noted that several international organizations, including the Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, had offered to buy or accept a donation of the contraceptives.