Office of the General Counsel

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) within HHS is the agency’s legal arm. It is composed of the General Counsel, advisors, the Deputy General Counsel and the thematic Headquarters Divisions. During the Trump administration, these offices have been used to provide legal advice on cases including pregnant, migrant young women who were denied the right to obtain an abortion by the agency. HHS lawyers from this office have also coordinated meetings with religious liberty groups, pro-abstinence advocates and HHS staffers overseeing the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.