Baltimore to sue feds over cuts to teen pregnancy program (Baltimore Business Journal)

Wednesday Mar 7th, 2018

Baltimore City is filing suit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over funding cuts to the city's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.

City Solicitor Andre M. Davis announced the filing Wednesday. The city health department said it was informed in July that grant funding supporting the pregnancy prevention program would be terminated early, cutting funding by $3.5 million over two years. Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen said no initial justification for the termination of the grant was provided.

 "The termination of our grant is shocking and unprecedented. It creates a huge gap in our ability to provide services to our residents," Dr. Leana Wen said in a statement. "We should be doing everything we can to empower youth to succeed and to thrive. We have made significant progress to reduce teen birth rates, and the last thing that should happen is to roll back the gains that have been made."

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