Fight for the Right to Save a Life

I thought that the essay Fight for the Right to Save a Life by Rebecca Schmidt was very well put together. She first spoke about the reason why she chose this topic and why it interested her; her reason being the protests at Champlain College against blood drives and their policies against gay men. She then laid out all of the facts. She spoke on behalf of the FDA and showed their reasoning. She explained why it was necessary that these policies were in place, and how it was not intended to be discriminatory, but was intended only for the safety of the people needing blood transfusions. She used a lot of statistics, as well as her own reasoning, which was thoroughly and clearly explained.

After showing the point of the FDA, she then showed the reasoning behind the gay men and the protesters. She proved that the policies in place were necessary, but that they could be changed slightly to be less unfair. Gay men are the only people who are never allowed to donate. Other people in risk groups, such as people who have had sex with people in risk groups, are allowed to donate, but only 12 months after the intercourse. This is because HIV can only be detected once the body produces antibodies to fight the infection, which can take up to twelve months. Rebecca's point was that gay men should be allowed to donate, but only twelve months after the last time they had intercourse. This makes their donations just as safe an anybody else's. If they do have HIV or any other disease, it will show up in the test, just like everybody else.

I agree with Rebecca's point. I don't think that the FDA was purposely discriminating against gay men. When the HIV/AIDS breakouts began in the 1980's, it was very prominent in gay men. At first it was actually believed to be a disease that only gay men could contract because they were the first people to get it. When the laws were passed about gay men donating blood, it was logical to not allow them to donate because they were the leading cause of HIV. Now the percentage of homosexuals with HIV is only slightly higher than the percentage of heterosexual individuals with HIV. The laws should be changed now that the percentages have changed, but precautions should still be used.