Canada sperm donation restrictions for gay men challenged - CTV News

The filing alleges that the current policy "perpetuates stereotypical attitudes and prejudices against gay and bisexual men, including false assumptions about their health, their sexual practices, and their worthiness to participate in child conception."

Aziz is uniquely positioned in bringing this constitutional challenge, as prior to coming out as a gay man, he donated to a sperm bank in Toronto several times between 2014 and 2015 without issue.

The government brought forward the current policy in 2019—requiring gay and bisexual men to observe a three-month deferral period before being able to donate—and it came into effect in February 2020.

What is different about sperm donation, Ko says, is that there is no third party, such as Canadian Blood Services, involved that the federal government could point to and say that it has limited authority to rescind the policy or intervene.

In a statement to CTV News, the federal health agency said that it is committed to non-discriminatory policies, pointing to the direct donation process it said was " specifically created" with the LGTBQ2S+ community in mind.

Health Canada said it is committed to ensuring the regulations continue to reflect the latest advances in science and technology, and given the recent changes to the screening criteria for blood donors, it "will explore whether similar updates may be appropriate" in the context of sperm donation.