Women's Health

Floor Speech

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Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, on September 11, 2025, the spokeswoman for the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, confirmed to the New York Times that $9.7 million worth of contraceptives being stored in a warehouse in Belgium had been destroyed at the direction of the Trump administration. These contraceptives were intended for people in poor countries with high rates of morbidity and mortality for pregnant women, infants, and children.

Just 1 day later, the spokeswoman rescinded her previous statement, claiming that there had been a ``miscommunication'' and that the contraceptives in question had not yet been incinerated. This was confirmed by Belgian officials who visited the warehouse where the materials were being stored.

Although Belgium prohibits the destruction of reusable medical devices, aid workers worry that the Trump administration will run down the clock until these contraceptives expire. Most of the products expire in 2028 or 2029, with some expiring as early as April 2027. Destination countries often have rules for importing medical supplies based on remaining shelf life. The administration may exploit these rules to stop their distribution.

Destroying these contraceptives would have cost American taxpayers an estimated $167,000, on top of the $9.7 million already spent to purchase them. At the time of this incident, three African countries had reportedly already run out of contraceptives completely, and 13 more were on the verge of running out due to President Trump's and Elon Musk's reckless destruction of USAID and cuts to foreign aid.

Seeking to destroy safe, lifesaving contraceptives is emblematic of the Trump administration's approach to foreign aid. Destroying these birth control products would exacerbate an already dire problem and would lead to more unwanted and high-risk pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and higher maternal mortality rates. The administration's other drastic cuts to foreign aid have already reduced or eliminated food aid for many families, forcing parents to remove their young daughters from school and into child marriage, increasing sexual violence and the risk of pregnancy-related deaths.

This administration's ideologically driven disregard for global public health worldwide is appalling. Contraceptives are legal and widely used in America. They prevent unwanted pregnancies and abortions. They enable women to choose when to have a child and grow their families, by doing so increasing the chances their children will survive beyond the age of 2.

I urge the White House to put the lives of women and children above politics by allowing these contraceptives, purchased with funds agreed to by a large majority of congressional Republicans and Democrats, to be made available to those who need them most. Women and girls in dozens of the poorest countries are depending on these commodities to take control of their lives. Destroying them is antithetical to America's long-held values and reputation of safeguarding public health around the world.

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