King County sues federal government to restore funding for science-based teen pregnancy prevention

King County is challenging a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services decision to cancel federal teen pregnancy prevention grants that fund sexual health education developed by Public Health - Seattle and King County.

The lawsuit is part of a national effort to push back against the politicization of public health initiatives. 

A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court requests an injunction to block the administration from terminating the federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention grants two years early – and to restrain federal officials from applying an ideological bias to deny science-based projects that have been rigorously vetted and already funded by Congress.

“The Trump administration had no legal right to eliminate the teen pregnancy prevention grants and block us from completing our research,” said Executive Constantine.

“King County created FLASH, one of the most respected sexual health education programs in the nation. Pulling back the funding completely disregards science and evidence in favor of right-wing ideology that is out of touch with reality. We are fighting back to protect women’s and young people’s health, and to continue effective programs that meet our common goals.”

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