Regression by Decree – How Trump’s Administration Infantilizes Teenagers

Washington – It is a return to prudishness and a political signal with far-reaching consequences. On Wednesday, the administration under President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued new guidelines for sex education programs that have sparked sharp criticism in the United States. In the future, federally funded initiatives to prevent teenage pregnancies will only receive government funding if they comply with a stricter abstinence mandate – with more parental control and less factual information about contraception.

Critics describe it as an ideological attack on the reproductive rights of young people. The new guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services stipulate that programs must primarily promote abstinence before marriage. At the same time, the teaching of contraceptive methods will be restricted unless deemed "medically accurate" in accordance with the administration’s political framework. Parents, meanwhile, are granted expanded rights to withdraw their children from lessons that, in their view, "undermine parental authority."

Health experts and educational organizations warn that decades of progress in sexual education could be undone. The most affected will be teenagers from low-income and marginalized communities – in other words, those who are most in need of comprehensive education. "This is not about protection – it’s about control," said a spokesperson for the Reproductive Freedom Network. That Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who likes to present himself as a champion of individual liberties, is now backing programs that rely on parental coercion and information restriction has drawn criticism even from former supporters. The new measure is part of a broader strategy by the MAGA movement, which increasingly seeks to enshrine conservative social values into law – whether on LGBTQ+ rights, abortion laws, or school curricula. But where state-imposed morality reigns, education and autonomy are left behind – and with them, the rights of an entire generation.