Christian Charities Resist Changes to AIDS Program

As President Bush tours Africa to tout his efforts to fight deadly diseases, several Christian advocacy groups are fighting possible changes to his AIDS program.

According to the Religion News Service, Concerned Women for America, the Family Research Council, and others object to Democratic lawmakers’ efforts to remove rules that steer part of federal AIDS funds to abstinence education and that require charities to sign a pledge to fight prostitution to receive government grants.

The changes are part of legislation to renew the program, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or Pepfar. The House Foreign Affairs Committee is expected to debate the bill soon.

The antiprostitution clause has been a divisive issue among international-aid groups. Some, like the Salvation Army, support it, while DKT International and other charities have sued the federal government, arguing it hampers their efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among sex workers.

Last year, a federal appeals court ruled that the government can require nonprofit groups to sign the pledge.

Read The Chronicle article about the decision.