The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has established a new set of sperm donation guidelines that could prevent gay men from being donors, according to a PR Newswire item.
Physicians could interpret the rules, which take effect May 25, to prohibit men who have had sex with men in the last five years from making anonymous sperm donations. In announcing the ban, FDA officials cited statistics that gay men are at increased risk for diseases like HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis, ProudParenting.com reported. However, some observers say the agency is less concerned about the sperm than about what that sperm might potentially produce: gay babies—and gay stem cells.
Gay-rights groups are outraged, but unexpected individuals are also criticizing the rules. ProudParenting.com revealed that the FDA’s move has also prompted harsh words from conservative Republicans who are reportedly concerned that the rule may affect them, as several GOP leaders have revealed their own homosexuality (whether inadvertently or purposefully).