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June 04, 2007
Challenge to Anti-Prostitution Pledge
One of the strings attached to PEPFAR funds that activists and aid workers complain about is the requirement that organizations have an explicit policy opposing prostitution. When fighting HIV transmission requires working with sex workers, who are a major source of transmission in many countries, organizations worry about running afoul of the rule. In Brazil, where prostitution is legal, sex workers are the first line of defense. The country refused some $40 million from the United States because it didn't want to go along with the rules. In other countries, women turn to transactional sex -- which some say isn't prostitution -- for food, clothing or school fees, putting them at risk. These circumstances thus call for help, not persecution.
So several groups have challenged the law, and two lower courts split on whether it unconstitutionally restricts free speech. Last Friday the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals heard one of the cases. And AP writes: "Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Lane, representing the government, conceded that the health groups had legitimate constitutional concerns."
Posted by Adam Graham-Silverman at June 4, 2007 10:55 PM