A gay man was arrested at a hospital in Missouri this week when he refused to leave the bedside of his partner, and now a restraining order is preventing him from any type of visitation.
Roger Gorley told WDAF that even though he has power of attorney to handle his partner’s affairs, a family member asked him to leave when he visited Research Medical Center in Kansas City on Tuesday.
Gorley said he refused to leave his partner Allen’s bedside, and that’s when security put him in handcuffs and escorted him from the building.
“I was not recognized as being the husband, I wasn’t recognized as being the partner,” Gorley explained.
He said the nurse refused to confirm that the couple shared power of attorney and made medical decision for each other.
4.11.2013
why equality matters
This is completely indefensible.
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9 comments:
"completely indefensible."
the understatement of the year.
Let's not be too confident on this one. Party A makes a claim to the media while suiing; Party B claims that party A was creating a scene, and that ANY person doing so would be removed. It's called "he said/she said" in the legal profession, and lawyers will warn you that hastily taking sides in such a situation is dangerous for a reason.
(even the hospital's change of course isn't significant, when you consider the cost of litigating and bad publicity vs. the cost of figuring out a way to give in without endangering the patient)
Bubba, I rather expect that if your brother-in-law had you kicked out of your wife's hospital room, you would "cause a scene".
The point is that the situation would not arise if the couple's legal status was not of a profoundly second-class variety.
Starting a fistfight in the room, Brian, endangering the lover one desires to protect and help? when that lover is mentally ill and presumably needs a little bit of peace and quiet to recover?
Sorry, Brian, but there are certain things you don't do in the psychiatric ward, and this guy did about ten of 'em. For that matter, I don't believe I'd much appreciate it if someone started a fistfight if I was merely on an IV waiting for gallbladder surgery, either.
Once again, you miss the point entirely. But I fully expected you to do so.
Brian, didn't miss the point at all. I just am noting that while there are very real examples of discrimination against homosexuals, this is probably not one of them. The hospital lawyers wouldn't have stuck by their side of the story and made a press release if the video didn't back them up.
No, you have. The video means nothing out of context.
The conflict between Gorley and his partner's brother would have been a complete non-issue if it had been Gorely's wife instead. The brother would have had no basis by which to insist Gorley had no right to be there. The staff would never have questioned the right of a lawful husband to make medical decisions.
Of course he got disruptive. So would I.
Actually, it could happen to you easily. It's pretty routine that a database error is made when someone comes through the emergency room, especially when the person bringing the patient in isn't next of kin. I've had it happen myself--they failed to update insurance.
Another possibility (and this is my guess) is that Gorley's name specifically was removed/not added as an approved visitor. Had I had the chance to take my manic-depressive sister-in-law to the hospital, I'd have encouraged her to do this. Her husband was bad news.
"... especially when the person bringing the patient in isn't next of kin."
And now you're just making my point for me.
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