A six-meter-high IUD was briefly erected in Paris on Tuesday by feminist associations to raise awareness, in particular, about the fate of American contraceptives blocked in Belgium, at the heart of a standoff between Brussels and the White House.
The installation of this monument for a few hours in Place de la République is part of a European tour, "Freeda Womb", aimed at highlighting the threats to sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide.
"Hello, I am Freeda, I am an IUD. I am a safe and effective method of contraception," read one of the signs.
“Defending sexual and reproductive rights and health is a matter of human rights and democracy,” said Clara Dereudre, advocacy officer at the feminist association Equipop.
A sign of the threat to these rights is the decision by the American administration to destroy American contraceptives stored in Belgium, noted Chris Fleming, co-founder of Americans for contraception, standing beside him.
These contraceptives were originally purchased by USAID, the U.S. Agency for International Development, under former President Joe Biden for distribution to women in some of the world's poorest countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
But the Trump administration indicated in July that it wanted to destroy them, sparking outrage among NGOs and feminist associations, particularly in France.
In mid-November, Belgian authorities announced that 20 of the 24 trucks loaded with pills and other contraceptives had been stored in unsuitable buildings and were now unusable.
"Today, we are in a catastrophic situation for the thousands of women and girls who were supposed to receive these contraceptives," denounced Sarah Durocher, president of the Family Planning Association, to AFPTV, deploring a "strong and impressive silence from France."
"Ultimately, this makes France somewhat complicit in Trump's policies (...) whereas France's voice is so eagerly awaited internationally, there is a kind of misunderstanding," she added.
According to the president of the Family Planning Association, "there is still a mobilization to be made (...) to try to save" the "four remaining shipments".
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