Written by Olivia Nater | Published: September 25, 2025
Over the past few weeks, the reproductive health and rights community has been rallying against the Trump administration’s reckless plan to spend $167,000 of taxpayer money to incinerate $10 million worth of USAID contraceptives that were destined for women in developing countries. Several reproductive health agencies offered to purchase and distribute the contraceptives, but were denied.
The stated reason for destroying a precious stockpile of contraceptives such as birth control pills, implants and IUDs that women in low- and middle-income countries desperately need? The Trump administration falsely claims the contraceptives are “abortifacients” and that the President “is committed to protecting the lives of unborn children all around the world.” The hypocrisy of this statement is astounding, because withholding contraception from vulnerable women leads to more abortions, suffering, and death. As we mark World Contraception Day (September 26) and International Safe Abortion Day (September 28), let’s review the evidence.
Reproductive health and rights are strongly partisan issues in the United States. Personal views on abortion rights have been shown time and again to play a key role in US voting behavior. Those stalwartly opposed to abortion tend to vote for candidates who claim they are “pro-life” (including Trump, who once called himself “the most pro-life president ever”), but what these voters presumably don’t know is that pro-life policies actually lead to the opposite of their alleged purpose.
One of President Trump’s first executive actions during both his current and previous term was to reimpose an expanded version of the Global Gag Rule, which prohibits foreign assistance to organizations that offer abortion services, referrals, or counseling, or that advocate for abortion rights, even if they use their own money to do so.
A 2019 study published in the leading medical journal The Lancet Global Health looked at how the Global Gag Rule affected the number of abortions in 26 African countries under George W. Bush, compared to when the policy was repealed under Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. The authors found that the abortion rate was 40 percent higher during the Bush administration than during the Clinton and Obama administrations.
During his current term, Trump went far beyond the already-devastating Global Gag Rule by suspending virtually all foreign assistance for reproductive health and rights. These cuts include the entire $600 million global family planning budget, the loss of which is projected to lead to an additional 17 million unintended pregnancies, 5 million unsafe abortions, and 34,000 maternal deaths over one year.
On the domestic side, Trump is responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade, leading to millions of US women losing access to safe abortion. He has also been trying to “defund” Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading provider of reproductive health services — a provision in Trump’s new tax bill prohibits low-income patients from using Medicaid at Planned Parenthood health centers, which could lead to the closure of up to 200 clinics. Despite these actions, US abortions have not decreased, while women in states with bans are twice as likely to die during pregnancy.
When clinics (abroad and in the US) are forced to shut down, reduce their services, or increase costs due to funding rollbacks, many women also lose access to contraception. This drives up unwanted pregnancies, and, as a result, abortions.
In developing countries where access to safe abortion is already severely limited, the loss of these services means many women are forced to seek out dangerous “backstreet abortions” performed by unqualified practitioners in unsanitary environments. These unsafe abortions come with a high risk of injury and even death. Every year, an estimated 20 million women require (but often do not receive) medical treatment after having unsafe abortions, and these are responsible for up to 13% of all maternal deaths. (Contrary to what many anti-abortion advocates claim, deaths from safe abortion are negligible and much lower than childbirth-related ones — in other words, giving birth is much riskier than having an abortion.)
Slashing reproductive health services also cuts off patients from other life-saving interventions, including HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment (exacerbated by Trump’s disruption of PEPFAR, the fund for combatting HIV/AIDS globally), cervical cancer screenings, and maternal care. News outlets are already reporting deaths of women and babies due to clinic closures following the suspension of US aid. In crisis areas with horrific levels of sexual violence, such as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the funding losses have deprived survivors of emergency care, leaving them with zero protection from HIV, other STIs, and pregnancy from their rapists.
Finally, anti-choice policies have long-lasting “chilling effects,” whereby sexual and reproductive health service providers reduce their outreach, education, partnership, and advocacy efforts out of fear of losing vital financial support. This leads to fewer women using contraception and thus more unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions.
Let’s be clear: “pro-life” policies kill and are driven by misogyny and the desire to control women’s bodies and lives.
Those who cannot accept that bodily autonomy is a human right should nevertheless keep in mind that backing anti-choice measures and candidates only backfires if the intention is truly to reduce abortions and protect life. Those who hate abortion can help make it rarer and can safeguard lives by supporting pro-choice policies that expand access to the whole range of sexual and reproductive health services.
A tremendous added benefit is that preventing unwanted pregnancies and births also reduces suffering and childhood trauma by ensuring children are wanted and grow up with parents who are able to meet their needs. This results in healthier, happier, more productive, and safer societies. A 2020 study by Stanford University researchers, for example, concluded that legalized abortion after Roe v. Wade was responsible for most of the observed crime decline between 1991 and 2014. Everyone, everywhere, today and well into the future, benefits from supporting reproductive health and rights for all.
