Federal Judge Protects Teen Pregnancy Program From Change By Feds

PORTLAND, OR – The Trump administration rewrote the rules on what kind of organizations would be eligible for grants from the federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. Multnomah County went to court to prevent that from going into effect.

Now, a federal judge in Portland says the county is right, the Trump administration wrong.

The suit challenged a decision by the Department of Health and Human Services to do away with a requirement that said for a program to be eligible for a grant, they have to be evidence-based and proven effective. Get all the latest information on what's happening in your community by signing up for Patch's newsletters and breaking news alerts.

The county argued that the change was meant to make it easier for programs promoting abstinence education, something that they said "Congress consciously chose not to mandate."

Federal Judge Youlee Yim You wrote that HHS's decision to make the change "ignores the qualifier that the programs must be ‘proven effective by rigorous evaluation."

HHS had wanted the suit dismissed. Meanwhile, in New York, another federal judge ruled the same way in a case brought by Planned Parenthood.

Multnomah County is starting its fourth year of a five-year grant that provides them $1.25 million each year, which is used to work with teachers on developing what they hope will be an effective curriculum to teach teens.

"This ruling supports teens throughout our nation. It sends a clear message that the science-based and comprehensive sexuality education Congress voted for cannot be undercut on an administrative whim," according to the director of Multnomah County's Youth Sexual Health Equity program, Kim Toevs.

"Here in Multnomah County, we'll continue to offer effective education and skill­-building through strong partnerships with schools and culturally diverse community groups."

If the new rules had gone into effect, the Oregon programs would have had trouble applying for the grants because state law requires comprehensive sex education, which would prevent the teaching of abstinence-only.

"We are proud to stand alongside Multnomah County and our partners to support evidenced-based sex-ed,” said Daniel Guilfoyle, the youth advocacy manager for the Native American Youth and Family Center, one of the county’s partner in its efforts to update curricula. “Comprehensive, inclusive and medically accurate sexual and reproductive health promotes healthy relationships and is primary prevention to reduce sexual and gendered violence. This is education that we all can learn from, old and young, healing our communities together.”

According to surveys by the Oregon Health Authority, the percentage of teens having intercourse dropped in 2017 from the year before.

Photo of Kim Toevs announcing the lawsuit, via Multnomah County.