Judge Says RFK Jr.'s Health Department Used Fake Studies

A federal judge sharply criticized the Department of Health and Human Services, known as HHS, on August 19 after finding that some studies it used to support a policy change either didn't exist or didn't back up what the agency claimed. The department is led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The judge said this problem looked like the kind of fake references that AI tools sometimes make up. Because of this, he temporarily blocked the government from moving forward with big changes to a program that helps prevent teen pregnancy.

District Judge Christopher R. Cooper issued the ruling as part of a lawsuit against HHS. Several local governments and health organizations brought the case to court. They argued that HHS was breaking the law by making major changes to the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, or TPP, without good reasons or solid evidence.

The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program was created by Congress in 2010. Its goal is to fund programs that use science-backed methods to help reduce teen pregnancy. These programs can include teaching about abstinence — which means choosing not to have sex — as well as education about contraception, which refers to methods used to prevent pregnancy.

HHS wanted to change how money was given out through this program. Under the new rules, groups applying for grants would have to focus on 'sexual risk avoidance,' which both sides in the case agreed means an abstinence-only approach. The new rules also required programs to teach a concept called 'body literacy,' which focuses on understanding how the body works, including fertility and reproductive health.

Judge Cooper was especially troubled by the studies HHS used to support the 'body literacy' requirement. An expert who reviewed the cited research found that five out of seven articles could not be located as described. Two of the studies appeared to be completely made up, and three seemed to be wrongly credited to the wrong journals. The judge said this looked like a 'hallmark of AI-generated citations,' meaning a computer program may have invented the references.

The judge also said there were no known pregnancy prevention programs that actually center on 'body literacy' in the way HHS described. He wrote that while abstinence education may be right for some groups, HHS gave no real explanation for why only abstinence strategies should be used across the board for every community. He blocked the new funding rules while the court case continues.

This is not the first time HHS has been caught using bad citations. Earlier in 2025, a government health report called 'Make America Healthy Again' included references to articles that didn't exist at all. That problem was first reported by the news outlet NOTUS.

Teen birth rates across the United States have actually been falling for many years. Judge Cooper noted in his ruling that the teen birth rate has dropped by about two-thirds since Congress started funding the TPP in 2010. That is a very large improvement over a short period of time.

The numbers show major progress in many states. In Mississippi, one of the states with the highest teen birth rates, the rate fell from 38 births per 1,000 teen girls in 2014 to 22.8 in 2024. Texas dropped from 37.8 to 18.5 over the same period, and California fell from 21.1 to just 8.7.

In 2024, Mississippi still had the highest teen birth rate in the country at 22.8 births per 1,000 teen girls, followed by Arkansas at 22.2 and Louisiana at 21.3. The lowest rates were in New Hampshire at 4.6, Massachusetts at 5.4, and Vermont at 6.3. These differences show that where a teen lives can have a big impact on outcomes.

HHS told Newsweek that it does not comment on ongoing court cases. The lawsuit will continue moving through the courts, and the judge's block on the new rules stays in place for now.