The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP) is a federal public health initiative that invests in organizations empowering young people with the education and resources they need to make informed decisions about their bodies and lives. It’s evidence-based approach has proven to be extremely successful: since Congress’s bipartisan authorization of the program in 2009, teen pregnancy rates have reached historic lows. Ruth Richardson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, talks to us about the administration’s overhaul of TPPP, the legal fights to challenge it, and the wide-ranging benefits of comprehensive sexuality education.
The resounding efficacy of this public health investment has made it an ongoing target for the Trump administration. In June 2026, the Department of Health and Human Services abruptly terminated 53 of the 67 nationwide TPPP grants. These funding cuts are depriving young people of science-based sexuality education that is proven to keep them safer and healthier, forcing programs to close, stripping educators of their jobs, and eroding years of communities’ trust. A coalition of organizations and local governments is fighting back in court. In August, a federal judge preliminarily blocked the administration from implementing its proposed changes to impose an unscientific and ideological abstinence-only approach onto grantees.
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