Hennepin County v. HHS

In late June 2026, the department of Health and Human Services (HHS) replaces the longstanding evidence-based framework of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPP Program) with a program focused on the administration’s ideological goals. The TPP Program operates through grants awarded to fund programs proven to prevent teen pregnancy. Since TPPP was initially authorized by Congress under the 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act, teen pregnancy rates have fallen significantly, according to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Over a 72-hour period in June, however, HHS announced new Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) and then cancelled the vast majority of ongoing awards. The administration is attempting to fundamentally alter the TPP Program by imposing non-evidence-based curricula that exclusively promote abstinence-only approaches, erase LGBTQ+ young people entirely from education and push ideologically-driven, medically inaccurate information, including about birth control.

On behalf of Hennepin County, Minnesota, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), and King County, Washington, we filed suit to challenge the new policy. Our co-counsel include Democracy Forward and Dunn Isaacson Rhee LLP. Co-plaintiff Planned Parenthood of the Heartland is represented by Planned Parenthood Federation of America.