Planned Parenthood affiliates ask court to continue grants for teen pregnancy programs

Planned Parenthood affiliates have filed a motion in court to continue federal funding for programs receiving federal grants under the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP). 

The Trump administration last year announced it would end five-year grants for 81 institutions two years early. The grants were given under the Obama administration.

Planned Parenthood lawyers are arguing the Trump administration’s decision to end the grants early is illegal, and on Saturday affiliates filed for an injunction asking that the grants continue while the lawsuit is underway.  

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According to Planned Parenthood, roughly 1.2 million young Americans will lose access to educational materials and resources to help prevent teen pregnancy as a result of ending the grants.

“The ability to control our bodies, our families, and our paths in life is the most basic freedom and it starts with education. We are in court fighting for young people’s right to the education and information they need to make smart decisions about their future,” Planned Parenthood Vice President of Education Leslie Kantor said.

“The Trump-Pence administration has made their abstinence-only-until-marriage agenda crystal clear,” she added, referring to several recent moves to fund abstinence-only education. “If the administration succeeds, it would abruptly cut off at least 1 million young people from high-quality, evidence-based programs that help them stay safe and make healthy decisions about their futures.”

The Department of Health and Human Services informed about 81 recipients in September in their annual grant award letters that the grant programs would end next year rather than in 2020, a cut of about $200 million over the next two years.

The TPPP’s initiatives are aimed at reducing teen pregnancy in 31 states, with a priority on populations with high teen pregnancy rates. Baltimore Commissioner of Health Dr. Leana Wen blasted the Trump administration last year, saying the White House gave “no communication” or warning that the grants would end.

“There was no communication about the reason. The notice of the award just stated that instead of a five-year grant, it is now a three-year grant,” Wen said last November.

“We don’t have another way to fill this deficit. This will leave a huge hole in our ability to deliver health education,” she added.

In a statement to The Hill at the time, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesman defended the move and said there was “very weak evidence” that the programs were successful.

“Given the very weak evidence of positive impact of these programs, the Trump administration, in its [fiscal] 2018 budget proposal did not recommend continued funding for the [TPPP],” Mark Vafiades said in a statement to The Hill.

“Current [TPPP] grantees were given a project end date of June 30, 2018.”