HHS to Give Nearly $700,000 to Pregnancy Prevention Programs for ‘Trans’ Teen Girls
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plans to give nearly $700,000 to a pregnancy prevention program specifically for teenage girls who identify as transgender boys, according to new federal disclosure documents.
The Center for Innovative Public Health Research in California was awarded a $698,736 grant from HHS to create nationwide “inclusive” sex education materials for trans-identified minors.
“Data suggest that afab [assigned female at birth] trans-identified youth” are “at least as likely as cisgender girls to be pregnant,” researchers observed. “This health inequity must be addressed.”
The organization stated that the “foundation for this R01 proposal is [its] work with Girl2Girl, a text messaging-based sexual health program designed for cisgender sexual minority [lesbian, bisexual, or queer] girls 14-18 years of age.” Girl2Girl’s development was funded directly by taxpayers through the HHS’s Office of Population Affairs (OPA) to “determine if it is an effective approach for preventing teen pregnancy” among young females.
Girls enrolled in the 20-week course receive daily text messages about “pregnancy prevention behavior.” The OPA also boasts an “on-demand advice line” called G2Genie, “which shares information about sex, relationships, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer/questioning (LGB+) community.”
With new funding from the HHS, the Center for Innovative Public Health Research plans to receive “ongoing feedback from trans-identified youth assigned female at birth,” as well as “adapt Girl2Girl for gender inclusivity to create #Transcendenthealth.”
To do this, the organization plans to assemble focus groups to “give voice to the contexts that affect sexual decision-making of AFAB [assigned female at birth] trans-identified youth.” Program outcomes will specifically monitor rates of “condom-protected sex” among the group of underage children, use of other birth control methods, HIV and STI testing, and other information. These goals are published on USA Spending — a federal government-affiliated website.
The funds were initially granted in September 2023, and the organization is set to continue receiving federal funds until June 2027.
The Center for Innovative Public Health Research will also receive a separate $1.4 million taxpayer-funded grant from HHS to create a “population-based HIV prevention program for trans girls,” to “address the lack of gender inclusive HIV prevention programming.”
