WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- A charity has sued the U.S. government for refusing to fund a grant for discount condoms because it didn't sign a pledge opposing prostitution.
Washington-based DKT International, a non-profit group that sold almost 400 million discount condoms in 11 countries last year, is suing the U.S. Agency for International Development and its administrator, Andrew Natsios. The group gets $8 million of its $50 million budget form the U.S. government.
DKT alleges pledging support for the Bush administration's "political viewpoint on prostitution" violates its First Amendment free-speech rights, reported the Wall Street Journal Friday.
"The government cannot tell us what policies to have," said the group's founder Philip Harvey.
AIDS activists fear for their efforts to prevent the spread of HIV among prostitutes and their clients if they must condemn those they are trying to help.
"It's the official policy of the U.S. government to oppose prostitution and sex trafficking as dehumanizing and degrading," said Heather Layman, a USAID spokeswoman. "There is nothing in U.S. law that prohibits the U.S. or any of our partners from providing services to high-risk populations, including women in prostitution."
