More than $620,000 in federal funding for a teen pregnancy prevention initiative designed to support transgender boys has been cut by the Trump administration, according to a senior official who confirmed the decision this month.
The funding—totaling $620,288—was allocated to the Center for Innovative Public Health Research (CiPHR), a nonprofit organization focused on inclusive public health programs. The grant was part of a broader initiative by the National Institutes of Health to address disparities in teen sexual health, particularly among youth who are often excluded from traditional programming.
The now-canceled grant was titled Inclusive Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program for Transgender Boys and was intended to expand research on how transgender teens—specifically those assigned female at birth (AFAB)—navigate sexual health risks. Federal grant documents stated that AFAB transgender youth are “at risk for negative sexual health outcomes yet are effectively excluded from sexual health programs.”
The research was set to examine critical gaps in data, including rates of condom use, access to birth control, HIV and STI testing, and use of PrEP among transgender boys. Findings from the study would have been used to adapt the existing Girl2Girl digital health program, originally created to help prevent unintended pregnancies among cisgender girls, into a more inclusive and affirming version that meets the needs of transgender youth.
The cut came as part of a broader sweep of budget reductions across the Department of Health and Human Services. Other programs affected include:
- $1.34 million eliminated from Boston Children’s Hospital’s TransHealthGUIDE initiative
- $222,977 cut from a University of Miami project monitoring microaggressions against Black women living with HIV
- $573,588 removed from a University of Michigan HIV prevention study for transgender women and men
Each of these programs targeted vulnerable populations whose health outcomes are often overlooked in mainstream public health initiatives.
According to CDC data, approximately 3.3% of high school students in the U.S. identified as transgender in 2023. While comprehensive data on pregnancies among transgender men remains limited, one University of Michigan study reported nearly 2,000 births to transgender men between 2014 and 2018.
Despite the documented need for targeted programming, the grant was rescinded less than a year after it was approved as a “continuation” under the Biden administration in June 2024. The full amount—$620,288—had not yet been spent and has now been reabsorbed into the federal budget.
On GovernmentSpending.gov, records show that CiPHR had been awarded roughly $1.3 million across multiple grants, with only a portion of that marked as outlaid before the latest round of cuts.
LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, medical professionals, and public health researchers have expressed alarm over the program’s cancellation, arguing that systemic neglect in sex education and healthcare access continues to expose transgender youth to disproportionate risks. While some federally funded teen pregnancy programs include “inclusive” language, few are specifically designed for transgender populations—especially those AFAB and engaging in sex that can result in pregnancy.
For many in the trans community and their allies, these cuts reflect a deeper trend of defunding initiatives that center marginalized identities—particularly where gender identity and sexual health intersect.
As policymakers, organizations, and families push for evidence-based and equitable healthcare, the abrupt withdrawal of this funding highlights the ongoing challenges faced by those fighting to ensure transgender youth are not left behind.
