Trump administration decimates birth control office in layoffs
The Trump administration has targeted a federal office that oversees a $300 million family planning program for layoffs, raising fears that it is effectively ending an initiative that provides contraception for millions of low-income women, according to three people with knowledge of the events.
The decimation of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Population Affairs — part of a larger effort by President Donald Trump to fire federal employees during the government shutdown — threatens a program that has existed for over 50 years and also offers testing for sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, as well as basic infertility care.
The layoffs targeting the office represent one of the most striking examples yet of Trump’s vow to fire people in an effort to purge the government of what he has called “Democrat programs” during the shutdown, a stark departure from past practice that has raised major legal and constitutional questions.
The decimation of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Population Affairs — part of a larger effort by President Donald Trump to fire federal employees during the government shutdown — threatens a program that has existed for over 50 years and also offers testing for sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, as well as basic infertility care.
The layoffs targeting the office represent one of the most striking examples yet of Trump’s vow to fire people in an effort to purge the government of what he has called “Democrat programs” during the shutdown, a stark departure from past practice that has raised major legal and constitutional questions.
