Posted by
Billy on Friday, May 28, 2010 11:54:14 AM
Guess what another band could be ending and this one might cost people their lives. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has started the process to lift the
27-year-old ban that prevents homosexuals from donating blood.
Those who support lifting the band are saying such things as it is "outdated" and based on stereotypes,
proponents of the ban being lifted have been publicly urging the federal agency
to change its policy. Their argument is that testing for HIV/AIDS -- the reason behind the ban -- has improved greatly since 1983; and that the policy
unfairly targets men in homosexual and bisexual relationships.
However Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About
Homosexuality (AFTAH), is hoping the government will not put politics above
the public health because homosexual practice is still dangerous, he says --
especially as practiced by men.
"The CDC itself has reported that gay men
have an HIV rate that is 44 times that of other men and a syphilis rate that's
46 times higher than other men," he notes. "So obviously there are very severe
dangers, and we need to put the public health first and foremost in these
deliberations."
I hope President Obama will do the right thing here and put the safety of the America public ahead of politics but seeing what he has already done in office I wouldn't count on it. Read more on this issue Lifting of another ban sought.
