Posted on 06/14/2012 9:48:20 AM PDT by fwdude
(CNSNews.com) – Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) sent a letter signed by 62 other Democrats to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, supporting her agency's review of the policy that bans homosexual and bisexual men from donating blood.
The Democrats say the ban is “outdated,” and they called the HHS pilot study an important step in "assessing the feasibility of allowing healthy gay and bisexual men to donate blood while maintaining the safety of our blood supply."
“Patients across the country desperately need life-saving blood transfusions, yet perfectly healthy would-be donors are turned away based solely on sexual orientation,” Quigley said.
“Equality for the LGBT community is closer than ever but outdated and discriminatory policies like this must evolve to match advancements in science and technology.”
“We’ve been working on this a long time, and I applaud Secretary Sebelius for taking this important step toward ending the lifetime ban on gay men donating blood, and instead relying on the science of today, not the myths of twenty years ago,” Kerry said. “I’m confident that the findings of these new studies will pave the way to get this policy off the books.
The lawmakers said the study will at least provide an "informed evaluation" of what it will take to end the ban on homosexuals donating blood. Currently, any man who has had sex with another man since 1977 is banned for life from donating blood.
The HHS pilot study will look at alternative criteria for deferring donations from men who have sex with men.
In their letter, Kerry and Quigley asked HHS to explore ways of distinguishing "high-risk" homosexuals from "low-risk" homosexuals.
"For instance, the donor questionnaire could collect information on whether or not the donor is in a monogamous relationship or if the donor engages in effective preventive measures," the wrote. "In this way the donor questionnaire could assess the risk level of all potential donors, regardless of sexual orientation."
They also urged HHS to "be vigilant" in avoiding any "real or perceived unwarranted discriminatory treatment" of homosexuals in the process of conducting the pilot study.
This is the second letter Kerry and Quigley have sent to Sebelius urging a policy change on homosexual blood donors. The first was sent in June 2010.
these people are just insane
You know....we need to start a blood bank of VERY CLEAN living individuals who want to share their blood among each other...we tried giving blood for a friend, but were told it would just go into the POOL (the blood bank)....and that you couldn’t give your blood specifically to a certain person...this is WRONG.
there is a gap between what We the People would define as “success” in the HIV epidemic...and what OUR RMPLOYEES in DC would define as “success”...for them....more cases =success.
That gap is the measure of the lack of accountability to us that We the People have allowed to occur.
They have been effectively been doing this in CA for some time. When I lived there (moved to a red state since then), I noted the following change of routine when I gave blood.
I was taken to a private place - where I could be alone behind a curtain - and counseled. I was given a sheet with two sets of barcodes - one code indicating that as far as I knew my blood was good, another not to use my blood. Alone, I was to put the barcode on my blood bag - so a casual observer would not know if my choice were a yes or no. In private, I dispensed of the sheet, minus my barcode in a covered garbage can - so the workers would not know my choice.
I figured this was done so that those who knew they had bad blood (AIDS, whatever) could go through all the motions of giving blood without their friends being any wiser to their true condtion.
That was about ten years ago.
there is no low risk homosexuals.
How many people have to die so that Homosexual men can feel better about themselves? And we all know that if anyone really dies as a result of this, it will be hushed up. After all, when it comes to Homosexual feelings, we’re all expendable.
It would be found "unconstitutional" by the Court of the New Zeitgeist.
“May we please see John Kerry put his arm out for a safe gay blood transfusion to show the way?”
Great idea.
Let’s just make a special blood pool for all the dim-bulb-crats...only they can use gay blood.
I love it when people ask me if I would contribute to “AIDS” whatever whatever. I tell them that there’s already a perfectly good AIDS vaccine available, and my wife and I were inoculated down at our church.
Does anyone have links to data showing the % difference between homos and normal people when it comes to different diseases? Seems to me I saw somewhere that homos were >500x as likely to catch STD’s than heterosexuals.
What will it take for America to stand up to the gaystapo? Perhaps when the govt mandates gay relationships upon straight people?
You don't have HIV...probably been dead by now if you did. HIV turns to Aids usually 5-10 years.
HIV would not be hiding in you for after 25+ years...
Oh okay NOW I support 0bamacare. /s LOL! What is with the Democrat’s OBSESSION with 2% of the population?
I lost two good friends to the Great Hemophiliac Genocide of the late 80’s, early 90’s, due to AIDS-tainted blood.
Around 200,000 Americans died because of this, but because the queers are a protected political class, that votes Democrat and runs much of today's media, it's just too politically-incorrect to talk about, OR EVEN MENTION
Pretty soon gays and lesbians will be permitted to go around the workplace and do whatever they like i.e. harass, wear revealing clothing and what not just because the libs will have them protected from discrimination somehow. It will get worse before they all get shoved back in the closet.
The proposed change is insane. It's all about the political clout of gay activists and wanting them to donate generously to Obama's re-election.
Well, even the current GOP-e and their poster boy Romney won't lift a finger to stand up to them. What hope do we have except to annihilate this pathetic excuse of a Party for a conservative alternative?
Oh I’m well aware of the timelines etc. Still makes me nervous regardless. Several years of doctors drilling into me the concept of “Don’t stop getting tested” back before they got a handle on it sticks with you.
Once the transmission vectors became widely known, a lot of people in my position (transfusions from a potentially contaminated blood supply) back then were pooping bricks.
Piercings are not allowed but this is. Unbelievable.
Piercings are not allowed but this is. Unbelievable.
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