# Government Shifts Teen Pregnancy Prevention Strategy Toward Abstinence and Marriage

The federal government has eliminated grants to multiple organizations nationwide that work on teen pregnancy prevention, replacing their evidence-based programs with an approach centered on abstinence and marriage promotion.

The administration canceled funding to groups it accused of encouraging premarital sex. New grant criteria now require programs to emphasize abstinence as the primary strategy and frame family formation around marriage as a central goal.

This reversal represents a sharp departure from decades of public health research. Programs defunded by this shift have typically taught comprehensive sexual health education, including contraception access and disease prevention alongside abstinence information. Studies published in journals like JAMA Pediatrics and the American Journal of Public Health have consistently shown that comprehensive approaches reduce teen pregnancy rates more effectively than abstinence-only messaging alone.

The teen pregnancy rate in the United States has declined significantly over the past two decades. Researchers attribute this success partly to increased contraceptive use and access to long-acting reversible birth control methods like IUDs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks these trends closely, and data shows that when teens have comprehensive sexual health information and contraceptive access, outcomes improve.

Organizations that received defunded grants typically provided sex education, contraceptive counseling, and reproductive health services in schools and community centers. Many serve low-income communities and communities of color, where maternal health disparities persist.

Public health experts express concern about the policy shift. Data from countries with robust sex education programs, including comprehensive information and contraceptive access, shows lower rates of teen pregnancy than the United States. Conversely, abstinence-only programs funded in previous administrations have not demonstrated measurable success in delaying sexual activity or reducing pregnancy rates.

Teen pregnancy carries documented health risks. Young mothers face higher rates of complications during pregnancy and birth. Their children experience higher rates of low birth