Planned Parenthood sues HHS over changes to teen pregnancy program

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/22/politics/planned-parenthood-hhs-lawsuit/index.html

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The organization claims that the Trump administration made unlawful changes to the program's funding guidance in order to emphasize "abstinence-only-until-marriage" approaches to curbing teen pregnancy. The organization also said it views the changes as a pretext for the eventual elimination of the program.

"The lawsuit seeks to protect the future of the TPP program," Planned Parenthood said in a statement. "If successful, the lawsuit will ensure that the TPP program maintains its evidence-based principles and that new grantees are not forced to push dangerous (abstinence-only-until-marriage) curriculums."

Multiple Planned Parenthood affiliates filed the litigation Thursday and Friday in US district courts in Spokane, Washington, and New York City, respectively, against the department, Secretary Alex Azar and HHS senior policy adviser Valerie Huber. Before taking her position in the administration, Huber headed Ascend, a teen-abstinence advocacy organization.

The lawsuit alleges there was a shift in preference for abstinence-focused programs outlined in an April funding opportunity announcement. In that document, HHS does not explicitly mention that approach but calls for projects that focus on "sexual risk avoidance" or "sexual risk reduction." Sexual health and education organizations like Planned Parenthood and the Guttmacher Institute argue that the use of such terminology is simply rebranding of abstinence-only language.

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