Creon And Antigone: A Comparative Analysis

In the story of Antigone, neither Creon nor Antigone can be considered either right or wrong due to the nature of their mistakes. While Creon has the state’s best interest in heart when he goes against tradition and declares that all traitors will be denied a proper burial, Antigone has her Polyneices’ best interest at heart when she betrays this law and performs a proper burial for him. Creon looks to political law to guide him, while Antigone looks to divine law. In a more contemporary setting, a similar situation can be seen in the recent debates around Canada’s laws regarding men who have sex with men donating blood. Neither side of the debate is right nor wrong, but both provide strong arguments.

To begin, in June 2016, Health Canada approved a request to change the eligibility criteria for men who have sex with men wishing to donate blood (Canadian Blood Services). Effective two months later, in August 2016, the ineligibility period went from five years to one year. The main concern regarding men who have sex with men seems to be that this group makes up the largest proportion of diagnosed HIV cases in Canada. While all donations are tested before being approved for medical use, there is a 42-50 day window period between the time in which someone contracts HIV and when it can be detected (Global News, 2016). It is explained on the

However, as time progresses, our society has become more inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community and this change in eligibility criteria, as there are other alternatives (such as behaviour-based screening) and the scientific evidence is not in line with the criteria, can be seen as hindering that social progression. This inclusivity may, in part, be attributed to the more liberal political and cultural views that have been expressed in Canada in recent