Alaska News

Northern Ireland health minister: No blood donations from African sex partners

NAIROBI, Kenya — Being a gay man or having sex with either prostitutes or Africans are examples of risky sexual behavior that will exclude you from giving blood if Northern Ireland's health minister Edwin Poots has his way.

In seeking to defend an existing ban on homosexuals donating blood, Poots dug an even deeper hole for himself saying:

"I think that people who engage in high risk sexual behavior in general should be excluded from giving blood. And so someone who has sex with somebody in Africa or sex with prostitutes, I am very reluctant about those people being able to give blood."

Many in Africa and around the world have highlighted the ignorance, stupidity and racism of Poots' remarks, as reported by the BBC, and his comments as might be expected, provoked an angry backlash and a righteous Twitterstorm of disgust and dismay.

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