$9.7 million in US purchased products, including 26 million condoms, 50,000 vials of HIV-prevention medication, and millions of doses of birth control, sit in a warehouse in Belgium. Destined for the poorest countries in Africa, they are scheduled to be incinerated at a medical waste facility in France. Said destruction will cost the US government $167,000.

The items, purchased by U.S.A.I.D., are nowhere near their expiration dates. The State Department confirmed that it ordered the destruction of “abortifacient” products, which induce abortion. However, none of the products in the Belgian warehouse fit that description, because U.S.A.I.D. cannot, by law, purchase abortifacients.

International organizations have offered to buy the products from the US, repackage them without U.S.A.I.D. labeling, and distribute them at no cost to the US. The Trump administration, which dismantled U.S.A.I.D., rejected the offers. In its refusal to sell or donate the products, the State Department cited policies that prevent the US from giving aid to organizations that provide or help with abortion access. An international organization, MSI Reproductive Choices, claims that the destruction of these healthcare products will result in 6.5 million unwanted pregnancies, 2.2 million abortions, 2.1 million unsafe abortions, and 21,700 maternal deaths.

European governments and American agencies are trying to prevent the destruction. US lawmakers have introduced emergency bills, but time is not on their side to stop the burning of $9.7 million of healthcare aids.

There is a powerful entity in Africa, however, that is thrilled with the pending incineration. According to the National Catholic Register, Catholic Church membership has increased by 238% since 1980, and it is projected that by 2040 one-quarter of Africa’s population will be Catholic. African Catholic leaders applaud the destruction, saying that America is choosing to honor religious convictions over concerns about resource waste. Are we? And is that a good thing?