That was announced just over a week ago so any developments since?
I can't help thinking there is more to the decision than merely the pettyness of destroying a policy created by the previous US Governemt, but reading the MSF article, I noticed two things:
Much of the contraceptives are or were already in other countries, mainly Belgium and the United Arab Emirates, so safely out of US territory.
The MSF does not receive US taxpayers' money beyond that already used to purchase the contraceptives. Destroying those would be simply burning the donors' money while also depriving many thousands of people of health care for no genuine, but possibly for shallow party-political, purpose.
To equate contraception and abortion shows either wilful ignorance by politicians who should know better, or wilful manipulation. Do they not know the difference between an abortifacient and a contraceptive?
Reading the MSF's own web-site, I learnt:
- It is not an American agency, nor part of any nation's governmental agencies, and not even American as such. It an international, non-governmental orgnanisation based in Paris, where it was founded in 1971.
- It is active in many countries including the Sudan (being destroyed by a vicious three-way "civil" war strirred up by rival other nations); and Palestine where the MSF has strongly criticised the Israeli / US "official" aid attempts, and the appalling shooting going on there. (Shooting by whom is probably not always clear, but we do know the IDF and some of the Israeli "settlers" are implicated, with the latter among those attacking aid convoys.)
So, what would - or could - the US Government try to do if the MSF simply ignored the order but carefully ensured the distribution did not involve American nationals, for their safety ?
Perhaps sold the lot to a safe country for a nominal fee, for the buyer then to donate it all to its own "branch" of MSF for distribution as intended, but as if from that nation?
Since the help would then be out of US Governmental hands and lands, likely the White House could nothing legal beyond stopping further support to the MSF, but that seems its policy anyway.
It would also show humanity is above party-politics, and might make the politicians think.
