Stigma, Bias and Discrimination: How Can They Harm Our Health?

Can stigma and discrimination affect our health? What is the rationale behind the blood ban policy and how does it promote stigma and discrimination against healthy gay men? Should the FDA abolish the blood ban policy? I really enjoyed discussing these questions with Doron Dorfman Associate Professor of Law at Syracuse University College of Law. We also thoroughly discussed his latest piece The PrEP Penalty which is forthcoming in Boston College Law Review. The Article uses an innovative experimental study to demonstrate counterintuitive and illogical responses to gay men’s use of PrEP, a highly innovative treatment that significantly reduces HIV infection. Even when participants in the study are educated about the health benefits of the PrEP treatment, on average, they are more reluctant to personally accept blood donated by a gay man who is taking PrEP compared with a gay man not taking PrEP. The findings illustrate how decisions related to public health are colored by moral judgment. As Doron explains, this is detrimental not only to LGBTQ individuals but also to society as a whole.