Trump’s Attack on Contraceptives
Contraceptives like these will soon become hard to find for citizens of low-income countries thanks to the Trump Administration. Photo by Marta Branco via Pexels.
In late September, it was reported by the New York Times that nearly $10 million of contraceptives were allegedly destroyed at the discretion of the Trump Administration. The products included birth control pills, intrauterine devices (IUDs) and hormonal implants. These products were intended for people in low-income countries.
These products had been stuck in a warehouse in Belgium for a month, after the State Department had ruled that contraceptives were not “lifesaving” and the US would no longer fund the purchase of birth control for low-income nations. The Internal State Department and the US Agency for International Development (U.S.A.I.D.) explained that several international organizations, including the Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, offered to purchase the contraceptives, but the operation was allegedly completed anyway.
However, Belgian authorities confirmed days later that the contraceptive materials had not yet been destroyed, contradicting the previous statements from the USAID.
This event is part of a much bigger picture: contraceptives, as well as other reproductive rights and health services, are under fire, thanks to the Trump Administration. We are quickly becoming constrained by new policies, budgets and rhetoric.
One of the most significant reproductive issues under attack by the current administration is Title X, the federal family planning program. Created in 1970, the program works to subsidize birth control, cancer screenings and sexual health services, excluding abortion.
In April 2025, the Trump administration announced that it would withhold nearly $66 million from all Title X grantees, which include all Planned Parenthood locations and fifteen other major providers. This would leave over 800,000 people without access to proper family planning care, the Guttmacher Institute reported.
Outside Title X, other issues persist, such as a controversial provision in the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill, which prohibits Medicaid reimbursements to all providers who provide abortion services, STI testing and certain wellness exams. This affects over 1.1 million patients who will no longer be able to use their health insurance at their local health center and puts over 200 Planned Parenthood locations at risk of closure, as reported by the Associated Press.
The consequences of these new policies are no longer theoretical; access to contraception and abortion is closely linked to reducing unwanted pregnancies, maternal mortality and other health issues across all women, especially those in low-income communities. Among low-income women, 39% say cost-related barriers prevent them from using any form of contraceptive, the Guttmacher Institute reports.
Planned Parenthood provides services to over 2 million patients a year, with a majority of these patients relying on subsidized health care. The National Women’s Law Center warns that if funding is entirely cut, entire communities may be left without basic reproductive healthcare. In states such as Maine, in which a majority of clinics serve Medicaid patients, the defunding of Planned Parenthood affiliations can leave people with no contraceptive care in their area.
Many have spoken out against the new rulings, including Attorney Generals Rob Bonta and Kwame Raoul. Bonta sued to block the defunding, arguing that it was unconstitutional and disastrous in the state of California. Whereas Raoul joined a group of 22 states suing over the Medicaid ban against Planned Parenthood, representing Illinois.
The Democratic Party also introduced the Saving Lives and Taxpayer Dollars Act, which actively works to prevent funded contraceptives from being destroyed and sent to those in need, among other issues.
The attack on contraceptives shows how reproductive rights are no longer restricted to disagreements about abortion. By cutting funding, threatening clinics and proposing to destroy contraceptives, our country’s leaders are undermining our reproductive healthcare in the US and abroad.