U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Lisa Murkowski have addressed a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging him to reconsider the State Department’s decision to destroy family planning commodities valued at over $9 million. These supplies were meant for women in crisis situations worldwide.
The senators stated, “We write to object to the State Department’s proposed destruction of more than $9 million in taxpayer-funded family planning commodities purchased to provide support to women in crisis settings, including war zones, refugee camps and other extremely poor communities where access to family planning contraceptives is critical.”
Highlighting the importance of these commodities, they continued, “Family planning contraceptives are part of life-saving humanitarian care, reducing unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions, improving health outcomes for women, lowering the risk of maternal and child mortality and saving lives.”
Shaheen and Murkowski criticized the potential wastefulness of this action: “This action would be a waste of U.S. taxpayer dollars as well as an abdication of U.S. global leadership in preventing unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and maternal deaths – key goals of U.S. foreign assistance.”
They noted that U.S. family planning assistance benefits 47.6 million women and couples annually by preventing 8.1 million unintended pregnancies, 5.2 million unsafe abortions, and 34,000 maternal deaths.
“The Administration has offered no justification for why millions of dollars of already-purchased commodities should go to waste,” they concluded. The senators urged Secretary Rubio to reverse the decision promptly and ensure these supplies reach those in need globally.
The full text of their letter is available online.
