In Comes the Pledge, Out Goes the First Amendment

Washington DC - July 18, 2005

Since 2003, the Bush Administration has restricted funds to foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) combating HIV/AIDS by requiring these groups to have an official policy opposing prostitution and sex trafficking. This anti-prostitution loyalty oath did not previously extend to U.S. organizations because of justifiable concerns about its constitutionality, but domestic HIV/AIDS NGOs now are being required to make the same pledge or lose critical federal funds, due to the Justice Department's reversal of its original interpretation of the policy.

Sex workers are among the populations most at risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. Reaching these men and women is critical to preventing infection of and getting treatment for HIV/AIDS and other STIs that increase their vulnerability to HIV infection. NGOs’ adherence to the Administration’s policy and thus their condemnation of the life of sex workers may further stigmatize members of these high-risk communities and discourage them from seeking protection against HIV/AIDS.

While the Administration may intend to discourage the practice of commercial sex work with this policy, it is instead forcing organizations to take a position on the issue as a condition of funding, without regard for their First Amendment rights, and it is debilitating these NGOs’ efforts to reach some of the most at-risk and growing AIDS populations in the world.

Population Action International (PAI) works to improve individual well-being and preserve global resources by mobilizing political and financial support for population, family planning and reproductive health policies and programs.