ACLU sues over bishops’ trafficking programs

WASHINGTON (RNS) The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the federal government, charging that it allows the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to use taxpayer dollars to impose its religious doctrines on victims of human trafficking. The Department of Health and Human Services awarded the bishops’ conference $6 million in grants from 2006 to 2008 […]

WASHINGTON (RNS) The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the federal government, charging that it allows the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to use taxpayer dollars to impose its religious doctrines on victims of human trafficking.

The Department of Health and Human Services awarded the bishops’ conference $6 million in grants from 2006 to 2008 to aid victims of human trafficking, many of whom are female prostitutes, according to the ACLU.

In accordance with Catholic beliefs, the bishops’ conference requires subcontractors to pledge not to use the grant money to pay for contraceptives or abortion referrals.


“Everything we do has to be consistent with our beliefs,” said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the Washington-based U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “We do all these social services, and we do it better than anyone else.”

The ACLU’s lawsuit, filed Monday (Jan. 12) in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, says the Department of Health and Human Services has “permitted the USCCB to impose its own religiously based substantive restrictions on grant funds.”

“For more than two years, the Bush administration has sanctioned the (U.S.) Conference of Catholic Bishops’ blatant misuse of taxpayer dollars,” said Daniel Mach, director of litigation for the ACLU’s program on freedom of religion and belief.

HHS officials knew that the bishops would impose restrictions on abortion referrals and contraceptives but still allowed them to receive the grants, according to the ACLU.

Using taxpayer dollars to further religious beliefs violates the Constitution’s ban on the government favoring a particular religion, the ACLU charges.

As many as 17,500 people are forced, coerced or deceived into coming to the U.S. by traffickers every year, according to government estimates. The vast majority are women, many of whom are forced into prostitution and sexually dangerous situations, and need contraceptives and access to abortions, the ACLU argues.


“Our government should ensure that … organizations can provide the full range of services needed, including reproductive health care,” said Brigitte Amiri, a staff attorney with the ACLU.

Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which authorized federal funding to aid victims, in 2000, and reauthorized the act in 2003, 2005 and 2008.

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