The Trump Administration Will Be Responsible for Millions of Unwanted Pregnancies
Under President Barack Obama Bush-era policies and programs that pushed failed “abstinence-only” teen sex education programs were reduced or eliminated. Obama administration agencies encouraged states to implement comprehensive sex education courses, and the rate of teen pregnancy quickly and dramatically dropped to historic lows.
Last year, the Trump administration “cut more than $200 million in federal grants to scores of organizations that work to decrease teen pregnancy rates,” The Washington Post reported.
But it gets worse.
Not only is the Trump administration now unraveling the Obama administration’s focus on comprehensive sex education, but it is now spending millions of dollars to bring back failed “abstinence-only” sex education programs.Â
One religious right group known for its decades-long attacks on the LGBT community – including on LGBTQ teens – the Family Research Council, is heralding there Trump administration’s move.
“We’re really excited to see that the administration is giving some tools back to us to keep pushing that fight†for abstinence-only education, FRC government affairs legislative assistant Kelly Marcum told The Hill.
Researchers have found that LGBTQ teens are “about twice as likely as other students to report becoming pregnant or getting someone pregnant.”
The Trump administration “has encouraged organizations applying for Title X federal family planning funds to include in their programs a ‘meaningful emphasis’ on ‘the benefits of avoiding sex’ when communicating with adolescents and to use programs that don’t ‘normalize sexual risk behaviors.'”
Apparently, it’s all about rebranding.
The Trump Health and Human Services agency has hired Valerie Huber, who used to head the National Abstinence Education Association. She is calling abstinence-only education “sexual risk avoidance education,†and advocating for “sexual delay.”
“As public health experts and policymakers, we must normalize sexual delay more than we normalize teen sex, even with contraception,†Huber said, before joining the Trump team.
“Sexual risk avoidance education†is modeled after programs urging teens to not smoke.Â
The Trump administration is not alone in deserving blame for what will be increases in teen pregnancy.
America’s Republican-majority Congress has opened the purse strings to failed “abstinence-only” teen sex education programs, approving the expenditure of tens of millions of dollars on programs that the federal government has proven do not work.
The Hill points to “a spending deal Congress passed in February. The $75 million Title V abstinence-only program was renamed ‘sexual risk avoidance education’ (SRAE) and included new requirements that organizations receiving [federal] funding emphasize and prioritize the message that waiting until marriage to have sex is the best action.”
Studies prove teens who are given comprehensive sex education, including information on contraception, have far lower rates of pregnancy. Teens who are given sex education that emphasizes “waiting until marriage to have sex” have much higher rates of pregnancy.
Abstinence-only education doesn’t just affect teenagers. As these ill-informed teens grow out of their teens and into adulthood they  are still ill-equipped to deal with sex, meaning unwanted pregnancies are more likely for them for years.
Image by Jonathan Abourbih via Flickr and a CC license