In a striking turn of events, the fate of reproductive health services is hanging in the balance both in California and across the globe, as funding cuts and policy decisions threaten access to contraception and basic care for millions. From California’s embattled Planned Parenthood clinics to nearly $10 million worth of contraceptives languishing in Belgian warehouses, the consequences of recent U.S. political shifts are being felt far and wide.
On October 23, 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a $140 million funding package to keep 109 Planned Parenthood clinics open across the state, according to CalMatters. This emergency lifeline comes after Congress slashed federal funding for the health system in July, leaving Planned Parenthood scrambling to cover massive operational losses. "Trump’s efforts to defund Planned Parenthood put all our communities at risk as people seek basic health care from these community providers," Newsom declared, underscoring the state’s ongoing commitment to abortion and reproductive health care.
The battle is far from over. Planned Parenthood needs roughly $27 million every month just to keep its California facilities running, Jodi Hicks, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, told CalMatters. The new funding will help, but it’s a stopgap—lawmakers are expected to revisit the issue in January when the Legislature reconvenes. Meanwhile, the organization has been forced to make painful decisions: primary care services at clinics in Orange and San Bernardino counties will close on December 13, affecting around 13,000 patients and resulting in 77 staff layoffs. Five other clinics in the Bay Area, Santa Cruz, and Central Valley already shuttered their doors in July, directly linked to the loss of federal dollars.
California is not alone in stepping up. It’s the fourth state—after Washington, Colorado, and New Mexico—to pledge public funds to keep Planned Parenthood afloat. Lawmakers in Oregon and New York are considering similar moves, reflecting a broader, state-led push to safeguard reproductive health access in the face of federal retrenchment. Still, the ripple effects are especially severe in California, where 80% of Planned Parenthood’s patients rely on Medi-Cal—the state’s version of Medicaid. "There was definitely an outsized impact on California," Hicks noted.
While state leaders vow to fight for continued access, uncertainty is mounting. The closures in Orange and San Bernardino counties are particularly troubling because those clinics had expanded primary care a decade ago to serve low-income patients who couldn’t find appointments elsewhere. Dr. Janet Jacobson, medical director for these clinics, lamented, "It’s inhumane to take away people’s health care. Folks that have Medi-Cal should be able to see the provider of their choice for primary care." She worries that patients with urgent mental health needs or chronic conditions will struggle to find new providers in already under-resourced communities.
Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, who leads the Legislative Women’s Caucus, called the loss of primary care "unacceptable and dangerous." Even as California pledges to protect reproductive health, clinics face a precarious future driven by federal grant freezes, lawsuits, and even some proposed state cuts. Andrew Adams, chief of staff at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte—which operates 30 health centers along the coast, Central Valley, and into Nevada—warned of a looming "financial cliff" in January 2026 if federal funding isn’t restored. "We are planning for an environment where there is no federal funding," Adams said. "What that looks like is having to potentially charge patients some amount of money for services we provide."
For many, the stakes are deeply personal. Dr. Neda Ashtari, a former Planned Parenthood and Medi-Cal patient, stressed the life-and-death importance of preventive care. Her mother died of breast cancer after missing routine scans that could have detected the disease earlier. "It really crystallizes that this preventative care is the difference between life or death," Ashtari shared.
Meanwhile, a parallel crisis is unfolding thousands of miles away. As of October 26, 2025, nearly $10 million worth of contraceptives purchased by the U.S. government are sitting idle in warehouses in Geel, Belgium, according to CNN. The supplies—procured under the Biden administration’s USAID health initiative—were destined for countries like Tanzania, Kenya, and Mali, where family planning tools are desperately needed. The stockpile includes almost 5 million items: copper IUDs, hormonal implants, injections, and birth control tablets. Most have expiration dates between 2028 and 2029, but the earliest batch will expire in April 2027.
Why are these life-saving supplies gathering dust? The Trump administration began dismantling USAID’s foreign assistance programs in January 2025, leaving the contraceptives in limbo. The U.S. State Department initially proposed destroying the stockpile at a cost of $167,000, but Belgium’s Flanders region blocked the move due to a ban on incinerating reusable medical devices. Offers from global organizations—including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), and MSI Reproductive Choices—to purchase and distribute the contraceptives were reportedly ignored or declined by the U.S. government.
The impact is already being felt on the ground. Dr. Bakari Omary, project coordinator at the Tanzanian NGO Umati (an IPPF member), told CNN that the withheld contraceptives represent 28% of Tanzania’s total annual need. "It’s urgent that we receive these resources before they become ineligible for import," Omary said. In Tanzania, import rules prohibit the entry of pharmaceuticals with less than 60% of their shelf life remaining. That means, even if the supplies are eventually released, much of it may be barred from import due to regulatory thresholds.
The consequences of withholding these supplies are stark. Aid workers warn that the delay and funding cuts will likely drive up maternal deaths, unsafe abortions, and economic hardship from unplanned pregnancies. "Contraceptives save lives. Around the world, there are over 250 million women who want to avoid pregnancy but are not able to access family planning," UNFPA stated. The agency estimates that meeting this unmet need could reduce maternal deaths by 25%.
The situation is further exacerbated by cuts to USAID family planning programs, which have reduced the number and reach of healthcare workers in countries like Tanzania. "After funding cuts, some of the programs were reduced in scale; their healthcare workers were removed from the communities," Omary explained, describing the situation as "difficult." IPPF’s supply-chain head, Marcel Van Valen, warned, "Unless a practical solution is found urgently, the US government may exploit this gap, allowing the products to sit until they technically fall below import thresholds and then justifying their destruction under the pretext of regulatory compliance."
Back in California, the fight to keep Planned Parenthood’s doors open continues, but with funding solutions still in flux and a "financial cliff" looming in January, the future remains uncertain. Across the Atlantic, a warehouse full of unused contraceptives stands as a stark symbol of how political decisions made in Washington can ripple across continents, impacting the health and autonomy of women everywhere.
For those on the frontlines—patients, doctors, and aid workers—the stakes are immediate and profound. As debates over funding and policy continue, the real-world consequences are measured not in dollars, but in lives, choices, and futures.
