Planned Parenthood affiliates are suing the Trump administration for focusing on abstinence-only education in awarding grants to prevent teen pregnancy.
The Department of Health and Human Services suggested in April that it may prioritize Teen Pregnancy and Prevention Partnership grants to groups that focus on teaching abstinence. Planned Parenthood argues in its lawsuits that the move would go against congressional intent, which was to focus on the most effective, proven ways to prevent pregnancy.
The organization said that programs focusing only on abstinence “ignore reality” because most people have sex by the time they are 18 and the median age for a first marriage is in the late 20s.
“Young people have the right to the information and skills they need to protect their health,” said Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “Planned Parenthood is in court fighting for young people’s ability to have the information, education and resources to plan their futures and take care of themselves.”
Planned Parenthood said the announcement “clearly lays out an agenda that stigmatizes teens who have had sex and stacks the deck against young people by promoting abstinence-only programs rather than a wide range of programs that are proven to help young people stay healthy.”
The program covers 1.2 million people and was put in place under the Obama administration. It provides grants to organizations that help educate teens about avoiding pregnancy, and Planned Parenthood has received some of those grants.
Mark Vafiades, spokesman for the HHS Office of the Secretary for Health, said the agency couldn’t comment specifically on pending litigation.
“The reason we adjusted the funding criteria is as follows: to produce results that will actually help teens and wisely steward tax dollars,” he said. “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.”
A 2016 HHS report suggested that 73 percent of the programs either had no impact on teen behavior or had a negative impact, such as making teens more likely to begin having sex or to do so without protection, or become pregnant.
The lawsuits, against the Department of Health and Human Services and its top health officials, were filed in the U.S. District Court in Spokane, Wash., and in New York City.
The suit is being argued by attorneys at Arnold & Porter and Planned Parenthood Federation of America on behalf of Planned Parenthood of New York City, Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, and Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho.
- This story has been updated with information and a quote from HHS.
