HHS Redefines Sex-Ed Program’s Scope, Emphasizing Parental Rights and Age-Appropriate Content
In a move lauded by advocates for parental rights and child innocence, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a policy statement last Wednesday affirming that multi-million dollar federal sexual education program funds cannot be used to promote what it terms “radical gender ideology.”
The directive specifically targets the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP), clarifying its mission to provide “medically accurate and age-appropriate programming” solely aimed at reducing teen pregnancy.
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The HHS statement explicitly warns that grant recipients who deviate from the outlined use of TPPP funds will face defunding. This includes content that encourages “anal and oral sex, masturbation, sexually themed roleplay, foreplay techniques and gender ideology,” as detailed in an HHS document.
Dr. Dorothy Fink, acting assistant secretary for health, emphasized HHS’s commitment to “ensuring a flourishing and healthy American youth, including through reducing teen pregnancy.”
In a press release, Fink stated that “Prioritizing parental involvement in the education of children on the most sensitive topics creates a healthy environment for children to engage with medically accurate and age-appropriate material.”
Beyond gender ideology, the HHS statement also prohibits the use of TPPP funds to “promote anti-American ideologies such as discriminatory equity ideology.” Furthermore, in alignment with a recent Supreme Court ruling granting parents the right to opt out of LGBT school lessons, grant recipients are now required to provide advanced notice and the ability for parents to opt out of programming that might “burden their religious exercise.”
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The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, established during the Obama administration in 2010, notably shifted funding from abstinence-only sex education towards organizations providing Comprehensive Sexual Health Education (CHSE). Critics argue that CHSE, as implemented by some organizations, normalizes gender ideology for children as young as five years old.
Planned Parenthood, identified as America’s “largest” sex education provider, reported delivering CHSE to over 1.3 million participants in the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Over the past decade, Planned Parenthood affiliates have received millions in federal dollars through the TPPP program to develop, study, and implement CHSE. The most recent round of TPPP grants saw Planned Parenthood affiliates awarded $7,029,840 in annual funding, totaling $35,149,200 over a five-year grant duration.
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An example cited is the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, which received $1 million in annual funding to implement its “Get Real” CSE curriculum.
The Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI) has critically reviewed the “Get Real” curriculum, which can cost up to $1599 to purchase, describing it on its website as “problematic” due to explicit sexual content aimed at children as young as 11.
According to MFI, the curriculum “teaches children how to enthusiastically consent to sexual activity, promotes solo and mutual masturbation, directs teachers to lead children through inappropriate sexual role-playing scenarios, and more.”
This new policy signals a significant shift in the federal government’s approach to sex education funding, prioritizing parental authority and a narrower focus on teen pregnancy prevention, free from what the administration deems “radical ideologies.”
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