The Trump administration's revised Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program has faced backlash from public health experts, sexual health educators, and LGBTQ+ advocates. New guidelines prohibit federal funding for materials related to gender identity or LGBTQ+ themes. Instruction on non-penetrative sexual activities and discussions about sexual pleasure are also banned, which experts argue are essential for reducing teen pregnancy and STIs. The policy emphasizes parental rights over children's sexual education and enforces a binary view of sex, rejecting diversity and inclusion initiatives.
The changes have ignited fierce concern among public health experts, sexual health educators, and LGBTQ+ advocates who warn it could undo decades of progress, erase essential health information, stifle research, and leave vulnerable youth at risk.
The policy to 'stop the radical indoctrination of children and ensure parental oversight' explicitly bars federal funds from supporting materials deemed to promote 'radical ideology,' including references to gender identity and LGBTQ+ themes.
It also prohibits instruction on non-penetrative sexual activities like masturbation and discussions of sexual pleasure, practices many experts say are crucial tools for reducing unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.
The department said the policy safeguards the rights of parents to protect their children from content that undermines their religious beliefs and declared that program materials are expected to reflect a binary understanding of sex and not gender identity.
Collection
[
|
...
]