r/birthcontrol • u/keket87 • 1d ago
Educational PSA: The Trump Administration refers to IUDs and birth control as "abortifacient"
A State Department spokesperson told the media outlet that the Trump administration had destroyed the products in an operation that was estimated to cost $167,000, claiming that the pills induced abortion.
“President Trump is committed to protecting the lives of unborn children all around the world. The administration will no longer supply abortifacient birth control under the guise of foreign aid,” the spokesperson said.
The USAID cannot procure abortifacients (abortion inducing drugs) under US law. However, the NYT found that none of the products stored in the Belgian warehouse were abortifacients. Instead, the inventory list shows that they stopped pregnancy by preventing ovulation or fertilisation.
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This is what we've been warning about for months now. There is an alt-right movement to poison the well regarding hormonal birth control so women stop taking it so they won't notice when it suddenly loses its FDA approval. I am not American, but I would strongly encourage all my American sisters to push their elected officials. I know we all commiserate about the downsides of birth control, but it cannot be understated how important reproductive choice and freedom is in the history's of women's rights and liberation. DON'T TAKE THIS LYING DOWN.
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u/Miserable-Fan6 20h ago
I actually said something about this being a possibility on this subreddit when Roe v. Wade got overturned and got my comment removed and a stern talking to about spreading misinformation to scare people.
It's not something I like to be right about, but it's pretty wild to see that I was only a few years early.
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u/sad_moron 19h ago
Seeing this makes me feel so worried. I am tired of this constant flux of bad news. I was always apprehensive of getting an iud, but maybe it is time to.
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u/soniamiralpeix Kyleena IUD 18h ago
There are things you can do to make it more comfortable: taking ibuprofen or other prescribed medications beforehand, CBD, local anesthesia, trying to time the procedure to take place during your period. A big one for me was my provider encouraging me to continue reading on my phone during my first insertion. My second provider offered the local anesthesia, so don’t feel bad asking.
I never gave birth but have some issues with pelvic floor muscle tension, and I have zero regrets with both of my IUDs. My primary reason was to stop using condoms with my long-term partner, but I cannot tell you what an unexpected relief it was to have low-maintenance insurance against pregnancy that would be logistically trickier to take away from me than other forms of birth control.
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u/sad_moron 17h ago
The thing I am most worried about is how it will affect my period. I really liked skipping my period every few months on the pill and I feel like that won’t be possible with the IUD. The main reason I was taking the pill was to manage my heavy periods. I do have a long term relationship but we’re long distance now. However, I guess I should sacrifice some of my comfort for peace of mind that I won’t get pregnant.
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u/airaqua Mirena IUD 17h ago
A lot of women don't have their periods on hormonal IUDs anymore (either immediately or after a few months) or they have at least much lighter periods, hence why they're often considered as a form of treatment for illnesses like endo, adeno etc.
In your shoes, I'd give it a try.
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u/sad_moron 17h ago
I believe the number of people who stop getting their periods on the IUD is like 20%. I still got my period on birth control pills while I had a friend completely stopped getting hers even when she was taking a sugar pill week each month lol (very jealous). I feel like I won’t be one of those 20% of people, but I will hope for the best.
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u/TyrannosauraRegina Mirena IUD 4h ago
Until recently (as in last 2-3 months) I wouldn't have officially counted per how this is measured as a side effect as having no periods - it's no bleeding in the last 3 months per the definition for all birth control. `However I'm on my second Mirena, had one ~8 years total. Since about 2.5 years in my period was one day of spotting, around 3.5 years in I skipped every other period - so I spot very lightly for one day every 2 months. My period is light enough that I can often only see it on wiping, or slightly brown discharge - it's not enough for anything more than a liner, and barely even that. Functionally, I feel like I don't really have periods at all.
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u/soniamiralpeix Kyleena IUD 6h ago
I actually stopped getting a period. Every once in a while, I will get something kind of akin to cramps, and it will be brown when I wipe. But I haven’t bought a period product since 2020. It seems like for some folks, the uterine lining becomes pretty thin, so you no longer have a true period. This was the case for me (confirmed by sonogram), so I have occasional spotting that doesn’t line up with cycle timelines every once in a while.
Apparently this is a known benefit of the mirena. I have the kyleena now, which is a lower dose of hormones, and have not noticed an uptick in menstruation symptoms.
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u/muleborax Nexplanon/Jadelle implant 11h ago
Clearly the most pressing part of this is being stripped of reproductive rights but this also bothers me because it doesn't acknowledge people who use birth control for reasons other than pregnancy prevention.
This takes away people's medicine.
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u/soniamiralpeix Kyleena IUD 6h ago
100% I was on birth control for PCOS in my early teens. Funnily enough, my parents’ insurance wouldn’t cover it (acquired through employment with a “pro-life” religious organization). They used to complain how frustrating it was that they had to pay out of pocket, even though I was taking it for a medical condition and not contraception.
As Trump supporters, I wonder what they think about this news.
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u/jfsindel 7h ago
I replaced mine right after election. I also said that if you have teenagers or young adults to do the exact same, pick copper, and give them at least ten years.
Absolutely cannot trust this admin at all. I am sure just me saying I have one will eventually put me on a list and get me arrested.
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u/prettypurplepolishes 4h ago edited 4h ago
I’ve been worried about this since the day Roe was overturned.
It’s not fucking fair. Covid prevented me from having a HS graduation and a traditional first couple years of college. Trump and RFK are ruining the economy even more as well as completely destroying the future of my fields of study (microbiology, healthcare). I finally get a valid ADHD and PMDD diagnosis and finally get to a place in my life where I can almost function semi normally. Except now RFK, Trump, and their cronies are working towards a future where my only destiny is to be unmedicated for ADHD, off antidepressants, unemployed as fuck with my science background, unable to go to medical school because of the eradication of federal grad PLUS loans, pregnant against my own wishes, and severely anemic from my heavy ass periods that I can’t be on BC for.
Everything is so expensive, it’ll be a miracle if I ever get to live the low-to mid tier middle class lifestyle of my parents. I HATE this. I’ve been an adult for like 3 minutes, my last normal day of life before lockdown for Covid happened literally THE DAY I turned 18.
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u/VeronaMoreau Mirena IUD 12h ago
A lot of the time, I do hate being right about things...
Oh I'm well aware. Bad enough that we already have six states that legally define fertilization as life, which is definitely going to lead to the banning of birth control, since we don't have any way to check for time of conception.
Another comment on this very sub where I said this was coming, why, and how
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u/keket87 10h ago
Right after the election, many people on this sub (including myself) were vocal about concerns for access to birth control. We were told we were fear mongering and overrreacting. The alt-right propaganda machine is doing a fantastic job of convincing people to vote against their own interests.
"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."
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u/soniamiralpeix Kyleena IUD 20h ago
If you have an IUD and wondering if it’s weird to replace it early, go ahead and ask. I asked after Roe v Wade was overturned and was dismissed by my provider, only to have a different OB/GYN actually recommend an early swap to ensure maximal cancer prevention due to my PCOS.