The Trump administration is deciding what to do with a large stockpile of family planning supplies stored in Europe—a move that has sparked outcry from reproductive health advocates and two U.S. senators. The stockpile, located in a U.S.-funded warehouse in Geel, Belgium, includes contraceptive pills, implants, and intrauterine devices (IUDs) intended to support women in conflict zones and underserved regions.
Advocates fear the supplies may be destroyed, possibly by incineration, prompting widespread concern on both sides of the Atlantic. Critics argue that doing so would waste taxpayer dollars and deny critical reproductive healthcare to vulnerable women.
When asked about the issue, U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on Thursday that officials are still assessing the situation. “We’re still in the process here in terms of determining the way forward,” he noted, without providing a definitive timeline or decision.
Belgian officials have been in discussions with U.S. diplomats to find an alternative to destruction, possibly by relocating the supplies. Belgium’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Florinda Baleci, said she could not provide more details out of concern that public statements might interfere with negotiations.
The contraceptives were part of a U.S. foreign aid initiative originally managed by the now-dismantled U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). With the restructuring of that agency under the Trump administration, the future of the unused stockpile has been left uncertain.
Pigott declined to specify the exact types of contraceptives in the warehouse but suggested some might be drugs capable of inducing abortion—something that could influence how the administration ultimately handles the materials.
The supplies, worth over $9 million and paid for by U.S. taxpayers, were originally meant for distribution to women in crisis zones, refugee camps, and other regions with limited access to healthcare. In a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) called the potential destruction of the stockpile a “waste” of resources and a step backward in U.S. global leadership on women’s health.
They urged the administration to consider allowing another country or global health partner to distribute the contraceptives instead of disposing of them.
European lawmakers and advocacy groups have raised concerns that the supplies might be shipped to France for destruction, prompting calls for urgent intervention to prevent such a move. The European Commission has acknowledged the issue and is actively monitoring the situation to identify possible solutions, according to spokesperson Guillaume Mercier.
MSI Reproductive Choices, a U.S.-based reproductive health organization, said it offered to purchase, repackage, and distribute the contraceptives at its own cost, but its proposal was rejected multiple times. The organization said the stockpile includes long-acting birth control such as IUDs and implants, as well as contraceptive pills—some with expiration dates stretching out to 2031.
Doctors Without Borders also condemned the possibility of incineration, calling it “a deliberately harmful act” that would negatively impact women and girls globally.
Adding to the growing opposition, Charles Dallara—grandson of a pioneering French lawmaker known for championing access to contraception—made a public appeal to French President Emmanuel Macron. He urged France not to participate in destroying the stockpile, warning that doing so would undermine France’s historic commitment to women’s reproductive rights.
“Do not allow France to take part in the destruction of essential health tools for millions of women,” Dallara wrote. “We have a moral and historical responsibility.”
Also Read:
Trump Set to Reinstate Presidential Fitness Test for U.S. Students
Trump Administration Scraps Plans for New Offshore Wind Development
