Big city health officials decry Trump administration’s cuts to teen pregnancy prevention programs (Washington Post)
Friday Aug 11th, 2017
The federal funding was curtailed last month without explanation and without warning: $214 million for teen pregnancy prevention programs across the country.
The city of Baltimore lost $3.5 million, money that Health Commissioner Leana Wen said had supported classes in anatomy and physiology and counseling in social and emotional issues related to sex for 20,000 teens, plus training for 115 teachers. She worries what the loss of funds will mean for local teen pregnancy rates, which already are twice as high as the state's and much higher than the U.S. average.
“This is a central health issue for thousands of vulnerable teens,” she said. “What is going to be the downstream effect on society?”