Public health leaders file amicus brief in Supreme Court case challenging 'anti-prostitution pledge'

"The case of the 'anti-prostitution pledge' heading for the Supreme Court this month focuses on whether the requirement that groups funded by [PEPFAR] create policies 'explicitly' condemning prostitution is compatible with the First Amendment," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports. "A brief filed Wednesday in the case asks also if the requirement is compatible with the interests of public health," the blog notes, adding, "The filing Wednesday of an amici curiae brief from public health experts and organizations supporting the legal challenge to the 'anti-prostitution pledge' asks the Supreme Court to uphold an appeals court's injunction against the requirement, and to allow 'the marketplace of ideas to continue generating best practices in the fight against HIV/AIDS, regardless of ideology'" (Barton, 4/4). "The court will hear argument in the case on April 22, and will render its judgment in the coming months," the American Civil Liberties Union's "Blog of Rights" adds (Lewis, 4/4). The website pledgechallenge.org provides a timeline and links to other material related to the case (4/5).