Key facts
- A federal judge has halted the Trump administration's overhaul of teen sex education programs.
- The administration had previously terminated funding for most programs and issued new guidance emphasizing abstinence.
- The preliminary injunction prevents the Department of Health and Human Services from using the new criteria for grant distribution.
- The judge declined to restore funding that had already been lost by sexual health educators.
- Critics fear the policy shift could reverse progress in reducing unintended teen pregnancies.
A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction halting the Trump administration's controversial overhaul of teen sex education programs. The administration had previously terminated funding for most programs nationwide and issued new guidance that prioritized abstinence-only education, minimized contraception instruction, and included lessons on "body literacy" and fertility.
The preliminary injunction will prevent the Department of Health and Human Services from using these new criteria to award grants as the lawsuit moves through the courts. However, the judge declined to restore the tens of millions of dollars that sexual health educators had already lost due to the funding cuts earlier this summer, stating uncertainty about his authority to do so.