Federal judge blocks Trump administration's restriction on teen pregnancy prevention grants

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction blocking an attempt by the Trump administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to restrict the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program. The ruling by Judge Christopher Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia pauses the administration’s limits on federal grants for the program.

The legal challenge, Hennepin County, Minnesota v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was brought by several plaintiffs including King County, Washington, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS). The plaintiffs, represented by Public Citizen and Democracy Forward, argued against policy changes announced in June that canceled 53 of 66 active grants. These grants supported public universities, health departments, and nonprofits providing sex education and contraception information.

Judge Cooper described the administration's changes as “likely arbitrary and capricious.” The Teen Pregnancy Prevention program, established through bipartisan legislation in 2009, has been credited with reducing unwanted teenage pregnancies in the U.S. by more than 65% over a 16-year period.