Updated at 8:49 p.m.
A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration broke the law when it cut off grants to programs that aim to prevent teen pregnancy.
The Department of Health and Human Services told 81 organizations last summer that their five-year grants under the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program would be ending in 2018, two years early. The administration said it did not find the programs, created under the Obama administration, to be effective, and has advocated for programs that promote abstinence.
The agency pointed to a 2016 report from the Office of Adolescent Health which found that 73 percent of the projects either had no impact or a negative impact on teen behavior, meaning they were more likely to start having sex, have unprotected sex or become pregnant.
“We are disappointed with today’s ruling,” said Caitlin Oakley, an HHS spokeswoman. “As numerous studies have shown, the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program is not working. Continuing the program in its current state does a disservice to the youth it serves and to the taxpayers who fund it. Communities deserve better, and we are considering our next steps.”
The $800 million in grants go to various groups, including universities, nonprofits and health departments, that carry out sex education programs, including information about contraception and abstinence, and help parents talk to teens about sex. Public health advocates have hailed the initiative as an effective way to reduce teen pregnancy, pointing to a continued reduction in rates. The birth rate among teen girls dropped 67 percent from 1991 to 2016, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
The announcement about the end of the grants, which groups said they received without explanation, resulted in multiple lawsuits.
On Thursday, Judge Ketani Brown Jackson of the District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in one of the cases, telling HHS it must accept and process grants from Policy and Research LLC, Project Vida Health Center, Sexual Health Initiatives for Teens and the South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
“The court’s decision today is a rebuke of the Trump administration’s effort to kill a program that is working effectively to lower teen pregnancy rates,” said Sean Sherman, a lawyer at Public Citizen Litigation Group, which represented the pregnancy prevention groups in court. “Because of the court’s ruling, the four grantees will be able to continue to serve their local communities and to conduct important research.”
The order is stayed until April 26, after which it will become final and can be appealed. Other lawsuits are pending.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services.
