FDA to Ban Gay Men From Being Anonymous Sperm Donors

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is preparing to ban gay men from acting as anonymous sperm donors to protect female recipients from HIV.

But LGBT rights groups say the policy discriminatory and isn’t based in scientific reality, reports the Associated Press.

Kevin Cathcart of Lambda Legal told the Associated Press: “The part I find most offensive, and a little frightening, is that it isn’t based on good science. There’s a steadily increasing trend of heterosexual transmission of HIV, and yet the FDA still has this notion that you protect people by putting gay men out of the pool.”

FDA officials say that gay men are at higher risk for getting HIV, but critics of the new policy say that the agency would be better served by screening procedures that identify high-risk behaviors in all donors.