Obama orders hospital visit rights for gays, lesbians

[frigidmagi]

CNN

The president's memo Thursday notes that "There are few moments in our lives that call for great compassion and companionship that when a loved one is admitted to the hospital ... Yet every day, all across America, patients are denied the kindnesses and caring of a loved one at their sides ..."

Read the president's memorandum (PDF)

Gay and lesbian Americans are "uniquely affected" by the relatives-only policy at hospitals, Obama said, adding that they "are often barred from the bedsides of the partners with whom they may have spent decades of their lives - unable to be there for the person they love, and unable to act as a legal surrogate if their partner is incapacitated."

The president listed widowers without children and members of certain religious orders among those who suffer under the policy.

[Posted at 7:49 p.m.] President Barack Obama has told the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a rule that would not allow hospitals to deny visitation privileges to gay and lesbian partners.

Good stuff.

[LadyTevar]

About Damned TIME.

[Batman]

What she said.
And out of curiosity, how does the 'relatives only' policy get enacted WRT unmarried STRAIGHT couples?

[frigidmagi]

And out of curiosity, how does the 'relatives only' policy get enacted WRT unmarried STRAIGHT couples?

You're basically at the mercy of the staff. For a couple that has been together for a long time it's generally considered the decent and humane thing to do to let them see each other... But if the hospital staff decides to be a dick you don't have much to stand on.

[Batman]

So OTHER than not being allowed to get married (more later) homosexual unmarried couples aren't really treated any different than unmarried heterosexual couples.
(This is later) I will in no way deny that homosexuals ARE treated heavily unfairly by a lot of US based law, most notably in this context the inability to get legally married and thus become a relative. I was just trying to find out if they were being singled out legally when NOT being a relative on top of that. I.e. if there were laws saying that straight nonlegal partners get in while gay/lesbian partners would not.

[The Minx]

The difference is that heterosexual couples could have chosen to marry had they wanted to, but the homosexual couple never had that choice. This is a way to migitate that.

If I'm any judge of human nature, I'm willing to bet that homosexual couples were also far less likely to have exceptions made for them than unmarried heterosexual ones.

[General Havoc]

Minx is no doubt correct in that assertion, but to answer your question Batman, my understanding is that there were not such legal barriers in place for homosexual couples relative to unmarried heterosexual ones.. Regardless, this should remove all such barriers that did exist.

[Batman]

The difference is that heterosexual couples could have chosen to marry had they wanted to, but the homosexual couple never had that choice. This is a way to mititate that.

I'm reasonably certain I mentioned that

If I'm any judge of human nature, I'm willing to bet that homosexual couples were also far less likely to have exceptions made for them than unmarried heterosexual ones.

So am I, which is why I ASKED.

[Cpl Kendall]

You're basically at the mercy of the staff. For a couple that has been together for a long time it's generally considered the decent and humane thing to do to let them see each other... But if the hospital staff decides to be a dick you don't have much to stand on.

Yup. Though as someone who has spent a lot of time in hospitals (Canada), the staff usually come ask you if you'd like to see whoever it is.

[The Minx]

Sorry bats, I need to post while less exhausted, since I totally misread your post.