Union says Health Canada didn’t go far enough in easing restrictions on ‘discriminatory’ blood ban
Posted May 10, 2019 10:06 am.
Last Updated May 10, 2019 10:07 am.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Despite Health Canada cutting the deferral period for men who have sex with men down to three months from one year, a B.C. union says the move doesn’t go far enough.
According to MoveUp, the change is a start, but the union still believes it’s a form of discrimination. It has been pushing for an end to what it calls a controversial blood ban.
“Discrimination is wrong, so Health Canada and Canadian Blood Services need to get on board with that and look at the behaviours of people and not their sexual orientation,” Annette Toth, vice president of the union, said. “It’s based on someone’s sexual orientation and certainly not on their behaviour.”
The change to the deferral period isn’t the end of the fight either, Toth notes.
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MoveUp is now planning on taking on a postcard campaign with the hopes of ending the ban completely.
“To let the prime minister know that until the discrimination is ended completely, we’re not going to stop,” she added.
A petition previously launched by the union had received more than 5,000 signatures.
A lifetime ban was in place until 2013 in Canada, meaning men who had sex with men couldn’t give blood if they had sexual relationships after 1977.
Health Canada has approved three requests to reduce the deferral periods, which are meant to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV. The first brought it down to five years in 2013, then to one year in 2016.
“It’s a start but the reality is that whether it’s one year or one week or three months or a month or whatever it is, it’s still discrimination,” Toth said. “Straight men, straight women are not required to be abstinent at all.”
-With files from the Canadian Press
