The Trump administration has a new plan for teenagers learning about pregnancy: Beginning this summer, it will steer millions of dollars toward organizations that focus on anatomy, fertility tracking, hormonal production and “reproductive goals counseling.” The new teen pregnancy prevention plan will also emphasize abstinence from sex and the importance of marriage.

In doing so, it will pivot away from programs that serve populations in areas with the greatest need and that use particular evidence-based programming to reduce teen pregnancies — and some say the new language puts a greater focus on planning for pregnancy rather than preventing it.

New Teen Pregnancy Prevention Plan Focuses on Restorative Reproductive Medicine

The new grant application terms are consistent with an approach called restorative reproductive medicine that has become popular among conservative groups, including those who identify with Make America Healthy Again initiatives, the forces behind the new teen pregnancy prevention plans.

The approach discourages the use of any type of contraception and instead focuses on fertility awareness methods, usually in the context of couples trying to get pregnant without medical intervention such as in vitro fertilization or other treatments. That typically means not using any birth control and instead tracking indicators such as cervical mucus, body temperature and other physical symptoms to monitor the menstrual cycle.

Academic studies have repeatedly shown that abstinence-only approaches to new teen pregnancy prevention plans result in higher rates of teen pregnancy and births, even after adjusting for other socioeconomic factors.

Congress created the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program in 2010, and has renewed funding for it on a bipartisan basis over the past 16 years, including the 2026 budget bill, despite President Donald Trump’s office targeting the program for defunding.

During that time, teen birth rates declined by about 72 percent, according to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, and much of the drop in the overall national birth rate is because teen birth rates have fallen so sharply. Experts say more comprehensive sex education, better access to contraception for girls and general behavioral trends around sex explain that shift.

Read the full article about teen pregnancy prevention by Kelcie Moseley-Morris at The 19th.