Health News
2006-09-16
Lambda Legal
comes to defense of gay man denied fertility services
A gay man denied
fertility treatments because of his sexual orientation
filed a complaint with the Human R
A gay man denied
fertility treatments because of his sexual orientation
filed a complaint with the Human Relations Board of
Orlando, Fla., on Thursday.
Dennis Barros, an
Orlando veterinarian, and his partner planned on having
a child with a surrogate mother who agreed to carry an
implanted egg. To go forth with the procedure, the men
sought fertility services with Frank Riggall, MD, who
at first agreed to help the men but then told Barros and
his partner that the procedure would breach U.S. Food and
Drug Administration guidelines.
The FDA does not
bar gay men from being sperm donors; they only recommend
not allowing anonymous donors who have had sex with men in
the last five years. This restriction does not include
"directed donors," which are men who donate to a
consenting woman, as was Barros's case.
"Dr. Barros was
denied services not because of any real medical risk
but solely because of his sexual orientation," said Gregory
Nevins, senior staff attorney for Lambda Legal, the
gay legal advocacy group working on Barros's behalf,
in a statement. "The FDA's recommendations against
sperm donation by men who have sex with men are
scientifically unfounded; furthermore, they are clearly not
applicable in this case." (The Advocate)
Click here to follow The Advocate on Twitter.
Page 1 of 1