Trending 
The French government stated on Friday that it has no legal authority to intervene and seize a $9.7 million stockpile of contraceptives that the United States plans to destroy.
The products, originally purchased by the U.S. foreign aid agency USAID under the previous administration, are being stored in a Belgian warehouse and were reportedly set to be incinerated in France.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which has pursued anti-abortion policies and reduced USAID funding, confirmed its intention last month to destroy the unexpired contraceptives.
The decision has drawn widespread criticism, with women’s rights groups in France calling it “insane.”
In a statement to AFP, France’s health ministry explained, “There is no legal basis for intervention by a European health authority… to recover these medical products.”
The ministry noted that since the contraceptives are not drugs of “major therapeutic interest” and there is no supply shortage, the government cannot requisition the stock. It also clarified that it had no information regarding where the contraceptives would be destroyed.
The head of the French women’s rights group Family Planning, Sarah Durocher, told AFP that some of the contraceptives had already been removed from the Belgian warehouse.
“We call on all incineration companies not to destroy the contraceptives and to oppose this insane decision,” she said.
French company Veolia, which has a contract with USAID’s logistics provider, Chemonics, stated that its agreement only covers expired products, not the stockpile in question.
The contraceptives, which include IUDs and implants, reportedly have up to five years before their expiration date.
The U.S. decision has sparked outrage in France, with rights groups and politicians urging their government to take action.
A recent opinion piece in the French daily Le Monde, signed by five NGOs, condemned the “absurdity” of the plan and called for a moratorium.
One of the signing organisations, MSI Reproductive Choices, is among several groups that have offered to purchase and repackage the contraceptives at no cost to the U.S. government, but all offers have been rejected.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson told AFP that the destruction would cost $167,000 and pointed to a policy prohibiting aid to non-governmental organisations that perform or promote abortions, known as the Mexico City Policy.
The spokesperson also noted that “no HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed.”
This incident follows the U.S. government’s recent incineration of nearly 500 metric tonnes of high-nutrition biscuits intended for malnourished children in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
