Yesterday, Healthy Teen Network President & CEO, Dr. Pat Paluzzi, joined Baltimore City Mayor Catherine Pugh, City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen, and City Solicitor Andre Davis in a press conference on the lawsuit we have joined to fight the Trump Administration’s unlawful cuts to the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. You can view the recording of the press conference (forward to 18:30) on CharmTV, as well as the related press release, but here’s an excerpt of the commentary on why our fight for science, for evidence matters:

Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore City Health Commissioner:

“This cut is shocking and unprecedented. Congress authorized the funding, which is available. The grant period is five years, and there’s no reason to terminate it early. The grant also comes at a time when we have made remarkable progress in reducing teen birth rates, with a 61% reduction in teen birth rates here in Baltimore City, between 2000 and 2016. This funding cut means that there are 20,000 students in Baltimore who will no longer have evidence-based teen pregnancy curriculum, creating a vacuum of critical health education for thousands of vulnerable teens. In addition to cutting evidence-based teen pregnancy curriculum, that includes education on physiology and STD and HIV prevention, the funding cut also removes supports to train teachers and build capacity for health education […].

The funding cut also jeopardizes our teen advisory council […] who act as peer health advocates who share information about reproductive health. Participants in the program have given feedback on how what they get out of this is much more than health education; they also get training on how to get control over their lives and are empowered to make the best choices for themselves and their families. One participant told us, “Without this education, I likely would have been a teen mom, and my future would have been very different.’

As a doctor and public health official, I’ve seen how much this evidence-based, science-based grant has helped us in Baltimore, and I’m deeply concerned about three areas. First, this cut will slash educational attainment and economic opportunities for youth. Many studies have shown us that reducing teen birth increases the ability of girls to graduate from high school and to have economic stability for themselves and their families. Second, this will increase costs for our city and for our country. There was a 2010 study that found that teen pregnancy and childbirth accounted for nearly 10 billion of costs nationwide. Third, this will adversely affect health outcomes for our most vulnerable mothers, children, and families. Teen mothers have a higher rate of giving birth to preterm, low birth weight babies who are more likely to have worse health outcomes. There are health consequences to the moms themselves […].

If we have a strategy that will improve health outcomes for our women and children, the last thing that we want to do is to hurt generations to come. So, for those of us on the front lines, we don’t see a number, we see the faces of our 20,000 students and 20,000 teen will not receive the education, we see the effect on them and on our city’s future.”

Dr. Pat Paluzzi, President & CEO, Healthy Teen Network:

“We were adapting an app that had been proven effective […] The loss of this funding means that we will not be able to test this app for the Spanish-speaking population, who in fact have the highest rate of teen pregnancy across this country. It also means the loss of a mechanism of delivery that is very much in concert with what young people are doing today in order to get their information. It also flies in the face of the reasons that were given in terms of the data-driven aspects of what we do in teen pregnancy prevention. Along with Dr. Wen, we promote using evidence to decide what to offer to young people, and stopping these grants, that are all evidence-based, that are building a base of evidence for this work, to promote an ideology that is not evidence-based, goes against the grain of all that we believe in and we think is very harmful to the young people in this country, and that is why we are joining in this suit.”

Today, we go to court, with our representation, Democracy Forward, for oral arguments. We’ll keep you updated when we know more!

#StandingStrong