Trump's Sex Ed Plan: Masturbation Warnings for Boys, Period-Tracking for Girls

7.1.26

Click to skip ahead: Trump Cut $67 Million in Teen Pregnancy Prevention; Texas Woman Denied Miscarriage Care; White House Attacks “Birth Tourism” & Trans Kids; California’s $20M ‘Abortion Reversal’ Suit Heads to Trial; We Need to Hold Crisis Pregnancy Centers Accountable; Republicans’ Mifepristone Attack Just Got Expedited

🚩: conservative or religious news outlet, click with caution

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Trump Cut $67 Million in Teen Pregnancy Prevention

File this under shocking, but not surprising: the Trump administration has eliminated over 50 grants for teen pregnancy prevention, impacting over two dozen states and $67 million dollars. What’s more, the White House has completely remade the federal program, deleting any mention of contraception and asking potential grantees to focus instead on “body awareness”—aka, period tracking.

In what I’m sure is a total coincidence, the Heritage Foundation published a roadmap earlier this year calling for young women to be pushed into early marriage and motherhood rather than higher education and the workforce. To put it plainly: the conservative maniacs behind Project 2025 want teenage girls to get pregnant, and the White House just handed them a federally funded gift to help.

Let’s dig in.

Last week, Bloomberg Law reported that the millions of federal dollars cut from the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program would be redirected into new funding streams—the details of which are laid out in these two “notice of funding opportunities.” Feel free to read through the documents yourselves, which are about as misogynist-MAHA coded as it gets. Here’s what stuck out to me immediately:

• There’s no mention of birth control, other than a directive that programs teach teen girls about “the advantages and disadvantages of ovarian suppression compared to approaches that address root causes.” In other words, the administration wants programs to spread misinformation about hormonal birth control.

• Programs must also teach girls that their menstrual cycles and ovulation are “the central event and primary indicator of hormonal health,” and that hormonal health is a “key indicator of overall well-being.” Basically, they want teend girls to think they’re ruled by their hormones.

• Lest you think all of the bullshit is directed at young women, consider that programs for teen boys must include “the role of healthy testosterone levels,” “waking erections or nocturnal emissions,” and “developmentally appropriate strategies for managing spontaneous arousal.” Unlike girls, who are ruled by their emotions and hormones, boys, apparently, are ruled by their boners.

• This is my favorite bit, though: “Programs should also address how repeated or artificially stimulated arousal may affect neural development and behavior over time.” That’s right—the Trump administration wants to teach teen boys that masturbation will fuck with their brain development.

Again, none of this should come as a surprise: RFK is weirdly obsessed with young men’s testosterone levels and sperm counts, and we learned last year that the White House was toying with the idea of “period classes” for teens.

A few months ago, the administration also revamped the nation’s family planning program to “prioritize life and promote the pro-family agenda.” New Title X guidance contained no mention of birth control—instead asking programs seeking federal funding to focus on “natural family planning methods.”

I could go on, but let’s just be clear about what all of this is: a clear and deliberate move to indoctrinate our kids with disinformation about their health, and plan to push teen girls into tradwifedom.

For more, read my column on how the Heritage Foundation is targeting girls and young women:

They're Coming for Our Daughters

Texas Woman Denied Miscarriage Care

Lynn Callaway is lucky to be alive. According to a federal complaint filed by our friends at Amplify Legal, the Texas mother was turned away by two different emergency rooms when she sought treatment for a miscarriage seven weeks into her pregnancy. Even as Callaway developed a fever, writhed in pain, and suffered massive bleeding—she was refused care.

HuffPost reports that Callaway’s husband wanted to fly her to the nearest pro-choice state, but that she was too weak to leave:

“I was like, ‘I don’t know, I might bleed out.’ I was thinking: If it’s going to happen, I’d rather it happen here and not in a car or on a plane trying to get somewhere. I’m, in that moment, trying to plan for my death.”

Thankfully, Callaway was finally able to get abortion pills about a week after she first started miscarrying. But not before she developed a serious infection, suffered greatly, and instructed her husband on what to do if she died.

Read the whole HuffPost piece, because it’s vital these stories aren’t slipping under the radar. And if you’re looking for something easily shareable, MS NOW has a segment on Callaway’s story below:

In the States: New Jersey, Ohio, Colorado & More

Let’s start this section with some much-needed terrific news: the New Jersey legislature has passed a bill to protect abortion patients and those seeking gender-affirming care. The legislation, which protects patients from out-of-state prosecution and civil suits, also makes it a crime to interfere with someone obtaining reproductive healthcare.

I’ve written about this bill before, and just how much it’s pissed off conservatives: anti-abortion activists claim that by prohibiting “interference” in reproductive health care, the legislation violates their First Amendment right to harass women outside of abortion clinics. Cue the world’s tiniest violin. 🎻

Kaitlyn Wojtowicz, executive director of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey, called it “a truly momentous day.” The bill now heads to Gov. Mikie Sherrill for her signature.

A new study found that 30% of Ohio women reported their reproductive healthcare needs were not being met. The Ohio Capital Journal reports that despite a pro-choice ballot measure passed in 2023—which codified abortion protections in the state constitution—Ohioans still “reported needing but not getting one or more types of care” between 2024 and 2025.

As you can imagine, the ability to access care was much worse for those in marginalized populations. Researchers from the Urban Institute wrote, “young people, people with disabilities, and those who identify as LGBTQIA+ were more likely to report challenges to accessing reproductive healthcare.”

Republicans have been working overtime to restrict abortion in spite of voters’ wishes in that 2023 measure—whether it’s telemedicine regulations, waiting periods, or TRAP laws.

“Today, pregnant women in Idaho have 35% fewer OB-GYNs to care for them during one of the most consequential times of their lives. The OB-GYNs who continue practicing in Idaho have taken on more patients, work longer hours and see no relief in sight.”

- Amber Nelson, executive director of the Idaho Coalition for Safe Healthcare, in the Idaho Statesman

Finally, I just wanted to send a little love and support to the RISE Collective in Boulder, Colorado. The all-trimester abortion clinic opened its doors less than a year ago, and has been targeted by anti-abortion extremists ever since. The Colorado Times Recorder reports that about 50 people rallied outside the clinic last weekend—’activists’ from the White Rose Resistance, which also calls for abortion patients to be executed.

In a moment when abortion providers and clinic staff are under increasing attack, it’s more important than ever that we’re supporting the people who are putting their lives and safety on the line. If you’re able, consider donating to the RISE Collective here.

Quick hits:

• South Dakota Public Broadcasting takes us through the arguments in last week’s legal challenge to South Dakota’s ban on abortion pill ads;

• Religious groups are celebrating (🚩) that Delaware’s legislative session closed without advancing a constitutional protection for abortion rights;

• And a fourth Planned Parenthood clinic in Missouri has begun to offer abortion medication in the wake of a court ruling removing restrictions on the pills.

White House Attacks “Birth Tourism” & Trans Kids

Let’s start with the bad news: yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with bullies who discriminate against children. I could walk you through the legal nitty gritty, but that’s really what it comes down to: adult bullies, picking on some of the most marginalized kids in the country.

The Court ruled that states can exclude trans women and girls from sports teams—a decision made even uglier by Justice Brett Kavanaugh citing Title IX, a law meant to prevent sex discrimination, to justify his bigotry.

Joshua Block, Senior Counsel for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project, called the ruling “heartbreaking” for his clients and “transgender girls like them who’ve asked for nothing more than the same opportunities afforded to their peers.”

If you want to remember what this is actually about, and whose voice truly matters here, read this USA TODAY op-ed by Heather Jackson, mother of Becky Pepper-Jackson—the West Virginia 15-year-old who challenged her state’s discriminatory law.

“I never imagined sitting next to my child listening to our country’s highest court debate her future,” Heather Jackson writes.

“The Supreme Court’s decision does not change who Becky is. It cannot take away her connection to the sport, the lessons it has taught her or the friends she has made. All that she’s learned about leadership, working together, challenging herself, managing disappointment and building confidence is wisdom she will have forever—lessons we both are drawing upon in this moment.”

In better SCOTUS news, the Court upheld birthright citizenship—which says that anyone born in the U.S. is an American citizen. Trump had been pushing hard to end that right, signing an executive order to kill it on day one of his second term.

Now that the White House has lost that legal battle, the racists on his team are cooking up new ways to attack immigrants. Axios reports that MAGA allies want Trump to stop pregnant women from entering the country entirely—branding it “birth tourism.”

Stephen Miller told Fox News host Jesse Watters that the country needs to “think very carefully about who you let into your country, even on a temporary basis.” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the DOJ will “prioritize investigations of birth tourism schemes,” and the department released a memo directing prosecutors to crack down on “fraudulent birth tourism schemes.”

Consider what this might mean for pregnant immigrants—who are already being horrifically mistreated at detention centers across the country.

I also think the term ‘tourism’ is interesting here, especially considering Republicans are increasingly accusing women of being “abortion tourists” when they’re forced to leave their home states for care.

California’s $20M ‘Abortion Reversal’ Suit Heads to Trial

Love this: California is asking a court to fine anti-abortion groups over $20 million for their false claims about ‘abortion reversal’.

A refresher: Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Heartbeat International and RealOptions Obria back in 2023, arguing that the organizations—which oversee crisis pregnancy centers—violated California’s law against false advertising.

“Those who are struggling with the complex decision to get an abortion deserve support and trustworthy guidance—not lies and misinformation,” Bonta said at the time. The Democratic AG accused the groups of “using false and misleading claims…about a potentially risky procedure.”

Here’s what’s especially interesting: Bonta isn’t arguing ‘abortion reversal’ should be illegal, but that the two groups lied about how safe and effective it is. The state’s suit calls for each group to be fined for every woman they misled—which means $640k for RealOptions and close to $20 million for Heartbeat.

The state’s first witness, UC Davis OB-GYN Dr. Mitchell Creinin, testified that there is “zero evidence” that ‘abortion reversal’ works. “They are making it up as they go along,” he said.

Meanwhile, conservative legal organizations claim California’s suit is an unprecedented attack on free speech. California Family Council’s headline (🚩) says the state is putting “free speech on trial.” And the Thomas More Society, which is defending Heartbeat International, argued (🚩) that “a twenty-million-dollar fine for free, harmless, charitable speech would not be a remedy…it would be a punishment for holding a disfavored view.”

Attorney Paul Jonna also pulled out one of conservatives’ favorite ‘abortion reversal’ lines, claiming that California was attacking a “woman’s right to choose.” (Remember the “flames on the side of my face” gif? That’s where I’m at.)

I’ll have more for you as the case moves forward, but remember that other similar cases have failed: late last year, a court ruled that New York crisis pregnancy centers could continue lying about abortion reversal.

We Need to Hold Crisis Pregnancy Centers Accountable

While we’re talking about CPCs…

Earlier this year, a Texas woman nearly died after a crisis pregnancy center missed her ectopic pregnancy on an ultrasound. When a reporter later asked if the center would change anything, staff said no—because the ultrasound was “for educational purposes only.” It happened in Massachusetts too: a CPC there missed a woman’s ectopic pregnancy, and she ended up losing a fallopian tube in emergency surgery.

That’s why I was glad to see this NPR piece digging into the danger of CPC ultrasounds specifically. The anti-abortion movement insists it’s dangerous for abortion pills to be prescribed without an in-person visit—because women need ultrasounds to rule out ectopic pregnancies. But as NPR points out, a single ultrasound usually can’t rule one out at all. (It’s almost as if this has nothing to do with women’s safety!)

That’s why the Campaign for Accountability (CfA) is urging New York Attorney General Letitia James to investigate anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers for deceptive practices—specifically, promising to diagnose ectopic pregnancies they’re not equipped to catch. Remember, CPCs aren’t medical clinics and most don’t employ trained medical staff. From CfA executive director Michelle Kuppersmith:

“By leading patients to believe that their services are adequate substitutes for medical diagnoses, [crisis pregnancy centers] may cause women to forgo comprehensive medical care, resulting in their suffering grievous bodily injury,”

Read CfA’s letter here.

Republicans’ Mifepristone Attack Just Got Expedited

I can’t believe it was less than two months ago that a federal court tried to end mifepristone-by-mail. 🫠

If you need a refresher, read my explainers on the Fifth Circuit Court decision and the SCOTUS ruling that came later. The short version is that Republicans want to end telemedicine abortion, because they know the shipping of abortion pills is allowing women to sidestep their draconian bans. That’s why Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill sued the FDA, pushing them to restore a requirement that women pick up abortion pills in person.

After the Supreme Court kicked the issue back to the Fifth Circuit, Murrill asked the notoriously-conservative federal court to expedite the case. Last week, we found out that the court agreed. That means Murrill and Alliance Defending Freedom (the group that overturned Roe) will be back in court trying to end telehealth access to abortion on September 9th.

You can count on Abortion, Every Day being there to listen to their bullshit in full.