Judge Strikes Down Federal Pledge Rule
May 19, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
The federal government may not require charities to sign pledges opposing prostitution and sex trafficking in exchange for federal grants, a U.S. District Court judge ruled on Thursday, the Associated Press reports.
Congress passed a measure in 2003 that required groups to sign such a pledge if they wanted to benefit from a $15-billion federal program to fight AIDS around the world.
DKT International, which runs a program to distribute condoms to sex workers in Vietnam, sued the U.S. Agency for International Development over the restriction last year, saying that the law stifled the rights of private organizations to free speech.
The Bush administration said the law was meant to ensure that federal dollars were used to advance a consistent position against prostitution and trafficking.
