Baltimore wins lawsuit over federal cuts to teen pregnancy prevention programs

BALTIMORE—The city of Baltimore won a lawsuit against HHS over its federal funding cuts to teen pregnancy prevention programs, city Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen learned Wednesday while speaking at Modern Healthcare's symposium on opioids.

The lawsuit, brought by national not-for-profit Healthy Teen Network in U.S. District Court in Baltimore in February, alleged that HHS reduced federal grants for programs because they did not promote abstinence until marriage. Healthy Teen Network lost out on a $3.6 million grant award from part of an $8.5 million federal grant to Baltimore's public health department to provide sex education for 20,000 middle and high school students. The not-for-profit planned to use the funds to develop a sex education app. The city later joined the lawsuit.

Although the federal grant was supposed to last five years and did not pay for birth control, Baltimore learned a few months ago that the grant would be cut off after three years.

Wen credits the programs with helping drop the city's teen pregnancy rates by 61%. She also argued that Congress had approved the funding as part of funding for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative. Lawmakers had specifically told HHS how the funding was to be distributed.

"By following science and evidence, Baltimore has made significant progress in reducing teen birth rates, and we look forward to continuing to fulfill our responsibility of protecting the health and ensuring the well-being of our youth," Wen said after the ruling.

Improving that stability is key to helping stem the effect of opioid abuse, according to Wen.

Wen moderated a panel at Modern Healthcare's opioid symposium on Wednesday that highlighted her "dream team" of professionals who have helped her be at the forefront of addressing the opioid misuse epidemic. They included the leader of the Baltimore City Chamber of Commerce and its local advocacy group addressing homelessness. Wen said their involvement underscored the need for communities to maintain stable and promising futures for children so they don't turn to drugs.