Tell HHS: Stop Using Fake Science to Gut Teen Healthcare

New reporting just exposed a stunning problem inside RFK Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services: HHS tried to rewrite teen health policy using scientific citations that a federal judge says apparently don’t even exist.

The administration imposed sweeping new conditions on the federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program and terminated 53 of 67 existing grants, threatening evidence-based programs in communities across the country while pushing abstinence-focused requirements and restrictions tied to what it calls “gender ideology.”

Then a judge checked HHS’s evidence—and it fell apart. Some studies appeared to be entirely made up or could not be found where HHS claimed they were published, while others did not support the agency’s claims.

If HHS cannot defend these cuts with real evidence, then the funding should be restored immediately. Young people should not lose proven health programs because political appointees decided on the outcome first and went looking for science later.

Tell HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Permanently restore funding for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs now.

These grants fund medically accurate, age-appropriate programs that help young people prevent unintended pregnancies and make informed decisions about their health. Cutting that funding means teens lose access to information and services designed to keep them healthy.

A federal court has temporarily blocked the challenged policy, but it did not restore the terminated grants. That means HHS still has the power to fix the damage now.

If the department cannot justify these cuts with credible science, it should reverse them—not keep defending a policy built on evidence that crumbled under scrutiny.

Add your name and demand that RFK Jr. restore the grants and put real evidence ahead of ideology.

The petition to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reads:

“Immediately restore funding for evidence-based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program grants that were cut under challenged HHS policy and ensure future funding decisions are based on verifiable scientific evidence.”