Virginia lawmakers warn—contraception fight is far from over as Trump officials push to destroy $10M supply

Planned Parenthood’s “Bros for Repro” delegates say federal attacks on birth control could foreshadow risks for Virginians.

Virginia lawmakers say what’s happening thousands of miles away in Belgium could hit residents here at home. In September, the Trump administration claimed it had destroyed nearly $10 million worth of birth control pills, IUDs, and hormonal implants overseas, labeling them “abortifacients”—medications or devices that induce abortions. Contraceptives prevent pregnancy altogether, and aren’t the same as what’s used for abortion.

But that was just the first falsehood in this story.

Belgian officials reported the stockpile of contraceptives that the Trump administration had used to make headlines throughout the world was still sitting in a warehouse—a contradiction that lawmakers warn could shape the fight over reproductive rights in the commonwealth.

Delegates Joshua Cole (D-Fredericksburg City, Spotsylvania County, Stafford County) and Joshua Thomas (D-Prince William County), both part of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia’s “Bros for Repro” campaign, said that the confusion shows how fragile contraception access can be. With Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s veto of the Right to Contraception Act still fresh, they argue Virginians should see the federal rhetoric as a warning of what could happen closer to home.

SEE MORE: These Virginia lawmakers are “Bros for Repro”

National context

The contraceptives, birth control pills, IUDs, and hormonal implants purchased by the United States Agency for International Development were intended for women in low-income countries. The program is part of the US government’s global family planning assistance, which typically helps prevent an estimated 8.1 million unintended pregnancies, 5.2 million unsafe abortions, and 34,000 maternal deaths each year in crisis zones and refugee camps, primarily in sub-Saharian Africa.

Internal documents obtained by the New York Times show global groups like the Gates Foundation had offered to take them and distribute them at no cost, but the US State Department instead opted for destruction at taxpayer expense.

A US official confirmed their destruction in an email to the New York Times, before later walking it back as a “miscommunication.” 

The Trump administration justified the planned destruction by labeling the contraceptives “abortifacients,” a term used to describe medications that induce abortion. But medical experts say that none of the products in question cause abortions.

That confusion, and the misleading language surrounding it, has raised alarm.

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, birth control methods like IUDs and pills work primarily by preventing ovulation or fertilization, before pregnancy occurs, and are not considered abortifacients under medical or legal standards.

Cole called the administration’s framing deliberate misinformation.

“They know they’re lying to the people, but they know that most of us aren’t aware of the truth,” he said. “And so if they can mislead us, if they can scare us, if they could divide us and get us off track, they know they’ll continue to run amok in the United States.”

Virginia’s frontline

For Cole and Thomas, the federal confusion isn’t just about overseas aid. They connect it directly to Virginina’s own battles. Earlier this year, Gov. Youngkin vetoed the Right to Contraception Act twice, a bill sponsored by Del. Marcia Price and Democratic Lt. Gov. candidate Sen. Ghazala Hashmi that would have guaranteed Virginians the right to access and prescribe birth control.

At a press conference marking the 18th annual World Contraception Day, Jamie Lockhart, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, said a lot is at stake.

“Contraception is essential health care,” she said. “It gives people the freedom to decide if, when and how to start a family. It helps manage conditions like endometriosis and PCOS. It reduces cancer risk and empowers people to plan their futures on their own terms.”

Additionally, she said the fight for contraception for her is personal.

“Access to contraception changed my life, and it changes lives every day across the commonwealth,” Lockhart said. “No politician should be able to take that away.”

READ MORE: Gov. Youngkin vetoes contraception protections—again

“Unfortunately, here in Virginia, we have a governor who’s continuously auditioning to be president and wants nothing more than to be patted on the head by President Trump and anointed as number two on the line,” Thomas said. “And so whenever new information comes from Washington DC, Gov. Youngkin immediately enacts it or is deferential to it either way, Virginia families and particularly Virginia women lose.”

Cole warned that Virginians who rely on Medicaid for basic reproductive care could feel the consequences first.

Thomas, who represents Prince William County, tied it to his own family and district.

“I live in an immigrant household,” Thomas said. “And so I’m well aware of various parts of the world that need access to all the different tools when it comes to family planning and so for these to be destroyed in those other countries when we already paid for it, is not only wasteful but neglectful of people’s health.”

He noted that about one in four residents in Prince William County were born outside the US, many from countries that could benefit from the contraceptives. Thomas said that reality makes the administration’s actions feel even more reckless, especially as access to reproductive care becomes harder across the states.

Looking ahead

To Cole and Thomas, being outspoken about reproductive health is part of their responsibility as male lawmakers. Through Planned Parenthood’s campaign, they aim to challenge the idea that reproductive rights are solely “women’ s issues.” Both say it’s crucial for men in positions of power to advocate for contraception access and protect the rights to bodily autonomy for everyone.

As the Trump administration doubles down on redefining contraception as abortion, both delegates say Virginia needs stronger protections.

“People deserve to make their own decisions as it relates to their body, as it relates to when or if they’re going to start their families, and it should be left up to them,” Cole said. “The doctor’s room is too big for a doctor, a person and a lawmaker, so we just need to trust women, trust people when they’re ready to do what they have to do, and let them make this decision with the doctors and their families.”

Thomas was more blunt.

“Rights on all fronts are under attack, particularly a woman’s right to make her own reproductive health care decisions,” he said “And if the state can take away that fundamental right to your body to half the population, think about what other rights they can take away.”