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The View Tackles Gay Blood Ban


The View

It's been more than a week since the Department of Health and Human Services's Advisory Committee on Blood Safety ruled that gay men still can't donate blood, but that hasn't silenced debate on the issue.

On a Tuesday segment of The View, guests D.L. Hughley and journalist Thomas Roberts (host of The Advocate On Air) joined regular hosts Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and Sherri Shepard in discussing the ruling in light of a recent Slate.com article.

The Slate piece questioned whether other groups with higher incidences of HIV infection should also be banned, citing, for example, that African-American women have an HIV rate nearly 18 times higher than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control (the FDA, a subagency of HHS, already bars persons born in sub-Saharan Africa from donating blood).

In a unanimous vote, the blood safety advisory committee also called the policy for men who have sex with men (MSM) "suboptimal," however, and recommended that distinctions be made between low- and high-risk potential gay donors in an upcoming report to the assistant secretary of HHS.

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Reader Comments
  • Name: Daniel
    Date posted: 6/23/2010 10:16:33 AM
    Hometown: Boston

    Comment:

    I think we all owe a thank you to the view. They are very supportive of gay issues, rights and causes (as a rule) I applaud them for taking a stand on what they believe in, be it gay rights or any other topic. I don't hear anyone else on tv (who isn't gay) calling for change.

  • Name: Aaron
    Date posted: 6/23/2010 10:15:40 AM
    Hometown: Minneapolis

    Comment:

    Go to The View's website and email a complaint today! The View should take responsibility for this sort of behavior, get their facts straight and make an apology.

  • Name: pepa
    Date posted: 6/23/2010 4:49:51 AM
    Hometown: surprise, az

    Comment:

    I don't know why anybody would watch The View, but his is the Advocate, so that might be the reason. The hell with this anti-male policy (not homophobic because lesbian and straight women can donate without any restrictions), if they don't want my blood, fine by me. More blood for my veins, good. Besides if you really look at it, it is them that need us more than we need them.

  • Name: Tod
    Date posted: 6/23/2010 2:26:24 AM
    Hometown: West Hollywood

    Comment:

    I know they were commenting on the Slate article but it seems they got caught up and missed hitting on the fundamentals of why it's discriminatory. Here's one point, the waiting period for a heterosexual who has had sexual relations with a HIV+ partner is 1 year. Just one year. A homosexual regardless of any exposure to HIV is barred for life. HIV is not a gay virus. It's a virus. Boy, that was an unnecessary quip Joy Behar made to Thomas Roberts. It seemed she was concerned he was going to pull more attention than her, which is understandable. I could watch him all day and night, but I digress. In all, they didn't confronted the main issue. The decision is prejudiced and discriminatory and not fully founded on science. It's remarkable they went against the recommendations of so many doctors, medical professionals and blood bank service companies.

  • Name: an ordinary citizen
    Date posted: 6/23/2010 12:19:56 AM
    Hometown: US

    Comment:

    so a $2 hooker can give blood all day long...but a gay man can't???...such hypocrysy (sp)

  • Name: Mike
    Date posted: 6/22/2010 11:35:24 PM
    Hometown: AZ

    Comment:

    Umm, Sherri did not make any sense at all. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if black women are getting HIV positive from having sex with a HIV + gay husband, wouldn't that kind of mean that the numbers of Gay's and black Women should be kind of the same? Did anyone catch that?

  • Name: Sean Smith
    Date posted: 6/22/2010 10:43:33 PM
    Hometown: Oklahoma City

    Comment:

    I didn't see the whole segment, just the clip, but it doesn't seem like they got to the meet of this at all. I also would have liked to hear them talk about non-descrimination environments (college campuses, corporate setting) that host blood drives that force the FDA's discrimination to the workplace and educational environments.

  • Name: JamesStone
    Date posted: 6/22/2010 10:26:59 PM
    Hometown: Ohio

    Comment:

    I work in the medical field..how ridiculous and antiquated is this thing?? ALL blood is tested!! I have been with my partner for 19 years monogamously and we are both in good health and HIV neg. I suppose I could lie if I wanted to give blood and say that I have not had sex with a man in the past 19 years? BUT!!! Isn't that just like DADT?? Yea..if you want to give blood for your fellow human being..just lie..and if you want to join the military to protect your country..just lie! BTW.. I have to applaud the Advocate for having Thomas Roberts on board in front of the camera!! The "Christian Right" continuously portrays gay men as either dancing on a float with a leather whip or a sexual predator that is out to get your kids. Thomas is just Thomas..is just like me and all of my gay friends..normal people..tax paying Americans..that are second class citizens in our own country. Thank you Thomas for putting the real face on us!



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