It’s one thing to stop sending aid to low-income countries. But to burn almost $10 million dollars worth of products meant to go to those countries, is quite another. Taxpayers have already paid for these products. These products are not expired. Women around the world need them. And many organizations have offered to buy them from us.

Confused? Let me explain. Trump shut down USAID. USAID was our government agency that managed the aid that we sent to low-income nations. This shutdown left us with almost $10 million of birth control products. This is birth control that we planned to send to women in low-income countries. And now the Trump administration plans to burn it all. You heard that right. Burn it. So no one can use it.

If you are scratching your heads about this, you are not alone. Many organizations have said they will buy these birth control products from us. The Trump administration has refused. Why? You may ask. We, and many others, are asking the same question.

Some say it is because Trump is against family planning. The State Department itself has said that birth control is the same as an abortion. Nothing could be further from the truth. Birth control helps women prevent pregnancy. People use birth control to plan their families, lives, and futures.

The products they plan to burn are sitting in a warehouse in Belgium. At the very least, we should sell them so that the women that need them can get them. These women often live in countries where it can be dangerous to give birth. Or where dying in childbirth is common. It is cruel to burn these products when women’s lives depend on them.

It is also plain wasteful to destroy these products. Our taxpayer dollars have already been spent to buy them. And the act of burning them will cost us over $160,000 more.

Click HERE  to let Secretary of State Marco Rubio know that you oppose this cruel and wasteful act.