Teen pregnancy can have a major negative effect on the health of the mother and baby in addition to the higher chance that the mother and child will live in poverty. To ”prevent” teen pregnancy, the Trump administration is funding organizations that promote an abstinence-only approach and the importance of marriage. The funding for the Replicating Effective Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Programs will go to organizations that are aligned with the restorative reproductive medicine approach that discourages the use of any type of contraception and focuses on fertility awareness methods. Academic studies have repeatedly shown that abstinence-only approaches increase the rate of teen pregnancies and births. Combining these findings with a focus on promoting fertility, perhaps the administration should rename the grant application Promoting Teen Pregnancy (PTP) Programs.
Meanwhile, what teens actual want is better sex education that includes help with navigating consent.
