Overview

• Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Brussels urging EU institutions to help stop plans to burn contraceptives stored in Belgium.
• Flemish authorities say inspectors confirmed the supplies are still in warehouses in Geel and Kallo and that no exemption to allow incineration has been requested or granted.
• USAID told POLITICO the commodities remain with customs under review, while earlier U.S. statements reported by media suggested destruction had been authorized, leaving the status contested.
• The stockpile—worth more than $9 million and consisting of pills, implants and IUDs—was largely earmarked for five African countries, with NGOs and UNFPA offering to buy or reallocate it at no public cost.
• U.S. officials cite reinstated restrictions on aid linked to abortion services and characterized some items as potentially abortifacient; activists estimate destruction could lead to over 360,000 unintended pregnancies and more than 700 preventable maternal deaths, even as incineration would cost about $167,000.