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The LGBT Bar is dedicated to promoting justice in and through the legal profession for the LGBT community in all its diversity.
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For Immediate Release
February 8, 2017

 
Contact:  Laura Hoch
(202) 637-7661 / laura@lgbtbar.org

 
Victory! Ending the Gay Blood Ban
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National LGBT Bar Association – the country’s largest organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and allied legal professionals – announces the passage of Resolution 112D during the American Bar Association's midyear meeting in Miami.
 
 “The LGBT Bar is proud of the work done by our staff, pro bono attorneys, and the American Bar's Criminal Justice Section in getting this resolution to the floor for a vote," said D’Arcy Kemnitz, executive director of the LGBT Bar. "The FDA's current policy is discriminatory and does not properly consider all factors in assessing risk in donors. After the tragedy that was the Pulse Nightclub massacre, many were turned away from donating much needed blood. It is increasingly clear that moving away from a policy based solely on one's sexual identity and history makes room for those willing and able to help to volunteer."
 
The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) current policy places a one year ban on any individual who has sex with a man who has sex with men. Gay men are questioned about whether they have sex with men, in general, rather than questioning each potential donor on an individual basis regarding whether they engage in high-risk behavior that may lead to the transfer of viruses. The suggested alternative would create a system in which someone's individual level of risk is assessed through a series of factors rather than keeping an overarching policy that precludes many healthy and otherwise qualified donors from volunteering.

The National LGBT Bar Association is a national association of lawyers, judges and other legal professionals, law students, activists, and affiliated lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender legal organizations. The association promotes justice in and through the legal profession for the LGBT community in all its diversity.
 
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The National LGBT Bar Association is a national association of lawyers, judges and other legal professionals, law students, activists and affiliated lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender legal organizations. The LGBT Bar promotes justice in and through the legal profession for the LGBT community in all its diversity.
Copyright © 2017 National LGBT Bar Association, All rights reserved.


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