Religious and Sexual Citizenship: Blood Donation by Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men in Brazil and Colombia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9044.rdisan.2026.225957Keywords:
Court Decisions, Blood Donor, Health Equity, HomosexualityAbstract
On May 9, 2020, the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil analyzed the ban on blood donation for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. The Court postponed this judgment by four years, pending receipt of medical evidence. The Court held that this ban constituted unjustifiable unconstitutional discrimination. The judgment is part of a series of demands from the LGBTQ+ movement to advance sexual citizenship or the achievement of people’s ability to make choices about their sexual lives. Since 1980, some industrialized and democratic countries have maintained this ban. However, the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil and the Colombian Constitutional Court (in 2012) considered that this ban is discriminatory. These Cour ts are striking examples of this gain for the LGBTQ+ movement, despite the religious environments and conser vative politics of Brazil and Colombia. Some of these sectors argue, in the context of religious citizenship or the expression of their beliefs in the public sphere, that scientific evidence establishes a link between homosexual donors and HIV. This paper outlines how constitutional cour ts can incorporate criteria for sexual citizenship to eliminate stereotypes related to sexual orientation in blood donation and to challenge beliefs linking homosexual donors to HIV. The article is supported by a case study analysis. Sexual citizenship, as understood by the constitutional courts, entails the removal of the ban on blood donation and the right of the LGBTQ+ community to engage in public life.
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