Funding restored to AAP supports rural health, SIDS prevention, and early disability screening. Read full analysis for legal implications.
A judge has ruled that the Trump administration must restore millions in funding to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), saying the cuts may have been intended to punish the group for its public health positions.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell‘s ruling temporarily restores seven federal grants to the AAP while a lawsuit continues.
The money supports programs aimed at rural health care, preventing sudden infant death and early screening for disabilities in young kids, among other child health initiatives.
In the preliminary injunction issued late Sunday, Howell said the evidence suggests the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may have acted with a “retaliatory motive” when it ended the grants in December.
“This is not a case about whether AAP or HHS is right or even has the better position on vaccinations and gender-affirming care for children, or any other public health policy,” Howell wrote.
“This is a case about whether the federal government has exercised power in a manner designed to chill public health policy debate by retaliating against a leading and generally trusted pediatrician member professional organization focused on improving the health of children,” she added.
AAP says the funding was cut after it spoke out against administration policies, including changes to childhood vaccine guidance and restrictions on gender-affirming care.
HHS has denied those claims, saying the grants no longer matched department priorities.
The pediatrics group has publicly supported routine childhood vaccinations and last year released its own COVID-19 vaccine guidance, which differed from recommendations under U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Howell said the Academy showed it would suffer irreparable harm without the funding and that keeping the programs running serves the public interest, especially while the court case continues.
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which represents AAP, praised the ruling.
“No administration gets to silence doctors, undermine public health, or put kids at risk, and we will not stop fighting until this unlawful retaliation is fully ended,” she told CNN.
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Learn more about the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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