The contraceptive stockpiles of the US development agency USAID, which were established during the Biden administration, are currently being dismantled. This is due to alleged violations of federal laws. At the same time, taxpayers are saving millions as the Trump administration makes a policy U-turn on the financing of global population programs. The U.S. State Department is destroying more than $13 million worth of contraceptives purchased during the Biden era. In addition, canceling pending USAID orders saved an additional $31 million. USAID has spent millions on contraceptive implants alone , while other resources have been spent on pills, intrauterine devices, and hormonal contraceptive methods.
This decision follows an internal audit initiated in the wake of President Trump’s executive order issued in January to tighten USAID’s oversight. The State Department’s memo explains that the contraceptives purchased, including hormone preparations, IUDs, and subcutaneous implants, were originally intended for use worldwide. However, the inspection found that many of these purchases could violate the so-called Kemp Caste Amendment — a law that prohibits funding organizations involved in forced abortions or forced sterilizations.
The accumulated stocks have attracted the interest of major global players, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the Child Investment Fund Foundation. However, according to the memorandum, the offers of these groups were rejected because their activities were linked to controversial coercive reproductive practices. An alternative plan to relabel and resell funds was also rejected, mainly due to high costs of millions and potential legal risks. Instead, the government opted for controlled destruction, which is estimated to cost around $167,000. The stocks to be destroyed make up only a fraction of the total material. A recent inventory at USAID’s warehouse in Belgium put the value of stored contraceptives at about $10 million, with an additional $3.4 million in materials stored at suppliers. This move is a significant departure from the Biden administration’s population policy and underscores Trump’s stated goal of streamlining USAID and making its operations subject to stricter ethical conditions.
Catholic doctrine considers the use of artificial contraceptives to be grossly immoral. XI. Pope Pius XI, in his encyclical Casti connubii (1930)Infallibly, any sexual act that is “deliberately thwarted in its natural capacity to transmit life” is considered a “crime against divine and natural law” and carries within itself the “sin of grave sin.”
This teaching was later taught by Pope Innocent VI. Pope Paul II also adopted it, confirms it in the encyclical Humanae Vitae. (1968).
Translated and edited by Joe Albart