Prevention / Education
The government has an obligation to support sound public health policy by promoting effective HIV prevention. Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, our government's response to the disease has all too frequently been driven by ideology — homophobia, transphobia, sexism and racism — as well as hostility towards IV drug users and sex workers. The government's public health efforts should be driven by science, not ideology or religious belief, and should protect all of us, particularly those in vulnerable populations.
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At the ACLU we work to make certain that the government meets its obligation to provide an adequate and equitable response to HIV that is based on scientific principles and evidence.
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Additional Resources
A Step Forward in the Fight Against AIDS (2011 blog): In the summer of 2011, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the "anti-prostitution pledge," a part of the U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act. This was an important show of support for organizations combating HIV/AIDS.
ACLUF v. USAID - Complaint (2010 legal document): In 2010, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to obtain public documents detailing its overseas abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, which promoted religiously infused materials and messages. These materials were funded through HIV/AIDS grants, and in the face of a growing global HIV/AIDS crisis, we argue that USAID not only violated basic constitutional principles by promoting government-funded religious activities, but also unconscionably put young people's health and lives at risk.
NYCLU Criticizes Ban on Condom Demonstrations in Sex Education Classes in New York (2004 press release): In November 2004, the New York Civil Liberties Union praised the New York City Department of Education for revising the sex education curriculum but criticized its refusal to include recommended condom demonstrations in a new curriculum.
Landmark Survey Finds Majority of California's Schools in Violation of Sex Education Laws (2003 press release): The first statewide survey of sex education in California's public schools in almost a decade reveals that 85 percent of schools violate one or more laws governing this subject, in part because many teachers and administrators find state laws governing sex education confusing and inconsistent. The survey also shows that parents and schools overwhelmingly support sex education.
Protecting Teen Health: Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Condom Availability Programs in the Public Schools (1998 resource): Although American teenagers are far more likely than their peers in other industrialized countries to become pregnant or contract a sexually transmitted disease (STD), the press has recently been full of encouraging news. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 1990s have brought a nationwide decline in teenage pregnancy rates and an increase in condom use by sexually active teenagers. In fact, the latest studies reveal that even teenage sexual activity has declined for the first time since the 1980s.
