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Federal judge blocks Trump administration from cutting Planned Parenthood program funds

Posted at 4:53 AM, Apr 26, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-26 08:04:14-04

A federal judge in Washington state has issued a permanent injunction that blocks the Trump administration from slashing grants to a Planned Parenthood program that funds teen pregnancy prevention programs across the country.

The decision came from US District Judge Thomas Rice on Tuesday, whose ruling stated that the Trump administration cannot end the program, due to the fact that it would cause harm.

"The Court determines that the public interest weighs in favor of (Planned Parenthood), as it would prevent harm to the community ... and prevent loss of data regarding the effectiveness of teen pregnancy prevention," Rice wrote.

 

This marks the second time in a week a federal judge has ruled against the Trump administration with regard to teen pregnancy prevention. Last week, a federal judge in Washington, DC, ruled that the Trump administration's plan to cut funds to the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program were unlawful.

Last summer, Planned Parenthood launched a suit against the Trump administration after it ended Teen Pregnancy Prevention grants for 81 organizations across the nation.

The grants to fund the program were supposed to run through 2020, but the Department of Health and Human Services said the grants would end in 2018 instead, arguing that the program was unsuccessful.