Trump Administration Cuts Funding for Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has canceled all but a dozen Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program grants, totaling $66 million, citing a “misalignment with agency priority” regarding the normalization of sexual activity for minors, according to reports from NPR. The decision terminated funding for a wide range of organizations, including public health departments, universities, and nonprofits.

HHS Terminates TPP Grants Over ‘Sexual Activity’ Concerns

In late June, the federal government canceled the majority of Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program grants. The terminations affected a diverse group of grantees, ranging from Planned Parenthood to Bethany Christian Services affiliates. These five-year grants had two years left to go.

Documents obtained by NPR reveal the official reason for the cancellations: “Misalignment with agency priority, specifically normalizing sexual activity for minors.” This follows a July notice from the Trump administration warning grantees that materials must reflect the “immutable biological reality of sex” and avoid “radical gender ideology” or “discriminatory equity ideology” to remain eligible for funding.

Impact on Local Health Providers and Indigenous Communities

The funding cuts have immediate operational consequences for regional providers. Ginger Mullaney, president and CEO of Healthy Futures of Texas, reported that the loss of a $2 million annual grant resulted in 13 employees losing their jobs. Mullaney stated that her organization had spent months revising 11 different programs to comply with executive orders, only to have the grant canceled two weeks after a November adaptation was approved.

In the Navajo Nation, the cuts halted the LiFT workshop, an evidence-based program operated by Hózhǫ́ Horizons from the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health. Paige Preston, chair of the Hózhǫ́ Horizons Youth Council, told NPR the workshop provided critical information on birth control options like IUDs and the pill—knowledge she noted is vital as American Indian and Alaska Natives have the highest teen pregnancy rate among racial and ethnic groups.

The Conflict Between Budget Requests and Legal Funding

The administration’s stance on the TPP program contains internal contradictions regarding funding and ideology. A recent budget request from President Trump called for the complete elimination of the program, claiming there is “no evidence” these programs contributed to the decline in teen pregnancy and alleging that funds were wasted on “problematic organizations like abortion clinics.”

However, President Trump also signed $101 million in funding for the program into law earlier this year, a point raised by Senate and House Democrats in a pair of letters sent to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week, demanding that the funding be reinstated.

The Evidence Base for Teen Pregnancy Prevention

Nicholas Mark, a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin Madison, explains that the TPP funding stream, established in 2010, was built on “gold standard” randomized controlled trials. These evaluations were designed to identify programs that effectively reduce teen pregnancy and increase healthy behaviors.

Mark described the agency’s reasoning for the cuts—that providing safe sex information “normalizes” sexual activity—as a “bizarre” framework. He argued that in an environment where teens have constant access to sexual imagery via smartphones, providing verifiable, trusted information is more effective than leaving youth to the existing digital information environment.

Comparison of TPP Program Stakes

The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to multiple requests for comment from NPR about why the grants were canceled.