A judge has blocked a Trump administration effort to change teen
pregnancy prevention programs
[October 08, 2025]
By GEOFF MULVIHILL
A judge Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from
requiring recipients of federal teen pregnancy prevention grants to
comply with Trump's orders aimed at curtailing “radical indoctrination”
and “gender ideology."
The ruling is a victory for three Planned Parenthood affiliates — in
California, Iowa and New York — that sued to try to block enforcement of
a U.S. Department of Human Services policy document issued in July that
they contend contradict the requirements of the grants as established by
Congress.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, who was appointed to the bench by
former President Barack Obama, blasted the administration's policy
change in her written ruling, saying it was “motivated solely by
political concerns, devoid of any considered process or analysis, and
ignorant of the statutory emphasis on evidence-based programming.”
The policy requiring changes to the pregnancy prevention program was
part of the fallout from a series of executive orders Trump signed
starting in his first day back in the White House aimed at rolling back
recognition of LGBTQ+ people and diversity, equity and inclusion
efforts.
In the policy, the administration objected to teaching that promotes
same-sex marriage and that “normalizes, or promotes sexual activity for
minors.”
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A title sign sits outside a Planned Parenthood branch, May 16, 2023,
in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
 The Planned Parenthood affiliates
argued that the new directives were at odds with requirements of the
program — and that they were so vague it wasn't clear what needed to
be done to follow them.
Howell agreed.
The decision applies not only to the handful of Planned Parenthood
groups among the dozens of recipients of the funding, but also
nonprofit groups, city and county health departments, Native
American tribes and universities that received grants.
DHS, which oversees the program, declined to comment on Tuesday’s
ruling. It previously said the guidance for the program “ensures
that taxpayer dollars no longer support content that undermines
parental rights, promotes radical gender ideology, or exposes
children to sexually explicit material under the banner of public
health.”
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