ACLU claims Catholic bishops misusing grant money

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Source: YahooNews/AP
By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press Writer Denise Lavoie, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 40 mins ago

BOSTON – A federal lawsuit filed Monday claims Roman Catholic bishops are wrongly imposing their religious beliefs on victims of human trafficking by prohibiting grant money to be used for emergency contraception, condoms and abortion care.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the complaint in federal court in Boston against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The suit claims the agency, which distributes money to help trafficking victims, has allowed the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to limit the services its subcontractors provide. The ACLU claims the bishops' conference is misusing taxpayer money and attempting to impose its religious beliefs on trafficking victims.

The federal government estimates that between 14,500 and 17,500 people — mostly women — are brought into the United States each year and exploited for labor, often prostitution. Through the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, a law passed by Congress in 2000, the federal government distributes money to cover services needed by victims of severe forms of trafficking.

"The whole goal of this program is to provide the full range of services, and the concern is that because of a main contractor's religious beliefs, it will be much more difficult for women to get these services," said Brigitte Amiri, a staff attorney with the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project.

A spokesman for HHS did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090112/ap_on_re_us/bishops_human_trafficking