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Obama: gay partners should have hospital access

Hatuey

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Obama: gay partners should have hospital access - Yahoo! News

Hospitals that accept Medicare and Medicaid payments must let patients choose which persons, including gay and lesbian partners, can visit them and help make critical health decisions, President Barack Obama said Thursday.

Gay rights advocates hailed the move as a major step toward fairness for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

"This is a critical step in ending discrimination against LGBT families and ensuring that, in the event of a hospital stay, all Americans have the right to see their loved ones," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

With no fanfare, the White House on Thursday night released a statement by Obama instructing the Health and Human Services Department to draft rules requiring federally subsidized hospitals to grant all patients the right to designate people who can visit and consult with them at crucial moments.

****ing A. It's about time this country came out of the dark ages when dealing with homosexuality.
 
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Waddya know. I actually agree with something Obama has done. Has hell frozen over?
 
Good move Barry!
 
Were they denied before in recent times? I know they used to have this issue. I am just asking, because I don't know, and I know thats not the case in many nj hospitals.
 
No issue with this whatsoever.

In fact, I suspect seldom were they denied in the first place.
 
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No issue with this whatsoever.

In fact, I suspect seldom were they denied in the first place.





exactly was my feelings, My wife is a nurse practicioner who worked in a hospital. They never were denied as far as she knew. :shrug:
 
exactly was my feelings, My wife is a nurse practicioner who worked in a hospital. They never were denied as far as she knew. :shrug:

This is about like passing a law that you won't be pulled over for doing 72 mph on a 70 mph highway.

Obama is grandstanding.
 
If you receive Government cash you have no right to discriminate. However if he pushes this on privately owned hospitals then there would be a problem.
 
No issue with this whatsoever.

In fact, I suspect seldom were they denied in the first place.

Hospitals that accept Medicare and Medicaid payments must let patients choose which persons, including gay and lesbian partners, can visit them and help make critical health decisions, President Barack Obama said Thursday.


That is the point, allowing them to also make critical health decisions.

My uncle and his partner of 26 years had powers of attorney because his partner's family was vehemently against their relationship. My uncle and his partner didn't want to risk his whacked out family making a decision overriding my uncle. My uncle passed away first, leaving the authority to my mother and thank goodness she had it as it proved useful. Like a plague of locusts, they descended upon his hospital bed attempting to over-take his care. My mother was allowed to get them out of the way and follow the partner's wishes as to his care until the end of his life.

If they had been a hetero married couple, none of this would have been an issue necessitating legal authorizations.
 
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That is the point, allowing them to also make critical health decisions.

My uncle and his partner of 26 years had powers of attorney because his partner's family was vehemently against their relationship. My uncle and his partner didn't want to risk his whacked out family making a decision overriding my uncle. My uncle passed away first, leaving the authority to my mother and thank goodness she had it as it proved useful. Like a plague of locusts, they descended upon his hospital bed attempting to over-take his care. My mother was allowed to get them out of the way and follow the partner's wishes as to his care until the end of his life.

If they had been a hetero married couple, none of this would have been an issue necessitating legal authorizations.





Really?


[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terri_Schiavo_case]Terri Schiavo case - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
 
This is about like passing a law that you won't be pulled over for doing 72 mph on a 70 mph highway.

Obama is grandstanding.

So Obama should have left it alone because it only helps out a few people?

Really?

Even though you agree with what he's doing, you still get to trash him because it only helps a few people and you think he might be using it for political points?:roll:
 
Were they denied before in recent times? I know they used to have this issue. I am just asking, because I don't know, and I know thats not the case in many nj hospitals.

No issue with this whatsoever.

In fact, I suspect seldom were they denied in the first place.

Actually, this was a problem with many hospitals across the country where critical care issues where concerned for unmarried gay and lesbian couples. In many cases their partners were restricted from visiting after normal visiting hours and had no say in long-term care or end-of-life care even if the couple had been together for most of their adult lives.

So, yes, this has been a problem that needed to be addressed for a long time.
 
Actually, this was a problem with many hospitals across the country where critical care issues where concerned for unmarried gay and lesbian couples. In many cases their partners were restricted from visiting after normal visiting hours and had no say in long-term care or end-of-life care even if the couple had been together for most of their adult lives.

So, yes, this has been a problem that needed to be addressed for a long time.





I don't doubt you. I've heard of this, just never seen it neither has my wife who works in the industry.
 
I don't doubt you. I've heard of this, just never seen it neither has my wife who works in the industry.

Yeah, my wife works in neuro-trauma ICU so she deals with people circling the drain all the time, and she said its never been a problem where she is and Asheville has a pretty big homosexual community.

Hell half the nurses she works with are lesbians(which hasn't turned out as hot as it sounds).
 
jamesrage said:
Free Medical Power of Attorney Form
Should your wife/husband/kids/parents be required to file one of these also?
 
Were they denied before in recent times? I know they used to have this issue. I am just asking, because I don't know, and I know thats not the case in many nj hospitals.

It may not be an issue in a state like New Jersey, but in states like Oklahoma and Mississippi, it could be a different story.
 
It may not be an issue in a state like New Jersey, but in states like Oklahoma and Mississippi, it could be a different story.

Thats theory not fact.

You can't just dishonestly throw out Southern states and guess they have denied gays.
 
Thats theory not fact.

You can't just dishonestly throw out Southern states and guess they have denied gays.

The article in the opening case mentions a specific case in Florida when it happened. My point is, and I think anyone would agree with this, New Jersey is a pretty socially tolerant state, so just because this is not a problem there does not mean its not a problem in more socially conservative states.
 
The article in the opening case mentions a specific case in Florida when it happened. My point is, and I think anyone would agree with this, New Jersey is a pretty socially tolerant state, so just because this is not a problem there does not mean its not a problem in more socially conservative states.

Now there's an understatement......;)
I agree, NJ should not be used as a benchmark.....;)
 
It won't stick. If this is simply Federal policy then it can be re-written if the GOP come back to power, and you know they'll do it.

I suspect people have been denied in the past over this, but whether or not it still happens is irrelevant to the security this will bring to homosexual couples who might not be taken seriously by the health establishment. I also like what this implies for equal protection at the Federal level.
 
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