Person arrested for refusing to leave hospital bedside of loved one.

[MrFun]

Even though this man has the power of attorney, some bigoted, spiteful, mean-spirited family member got security to arrest the man.

I know for a fact that some of you on here have argued in the past that there are ways for gay partners to get rights, such as visitation rights, such as by getting power of attorney. So what do you say to this?

Missouri, USA: Gay Man Arrested for Refusing to Leave Partner’s Bedside
Written by scott on April 11th, 2013
In Missouri, a gay man who refused to leave his partner’s bedside in the hospital was arrested. The Raw Story reports:

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.

Gorley and his partner did everything they could in conservative Missouri to insure their rights – and as one of them lies alone in the hospital, it still was not enough. This, in a nutshell, is why marriage equality is so important.

[DinoDoc]

If he truly had power of attorney, the hospital had no legal right to ask him to leave as he's the one empowered to make decisions for the patient. So the question is, Are you telling the truth here?

[The Mad Monk]

Okay, it's just bizarre that this would happen in KCMO.

[snoopy369]

I'd be vaguely curious about the situation in more detail. It's certainly possible it's exactly as stated, which is sad (though in Missouri not surprising); but there are times when a husband is not allowed to stay at his wife's bedside, either, and that's up to hospital policy as well as doctor's preferences. For example, when my wife got an epidural while giving birth, I was required to leave the room. (This is not necessarily the policy at all hospitals, as I'm led to understand, but was at ours.)

[snoopy369]

If he truly had power of attorney, the hospital had no legal right to ask him to leave as he's the one empowered to make decisions for the patient. So the question is, Are you telling the truth here?

That's entirely inaccurate in every way possible. Power of Attorney does not give you the right to stand next to someone - it gives you the right to make decisions for them. Obvious example: if they were doing open heart surgery, you wouldn't be standing next to the person there.

Further, the hospital clearly is in a position of power and can cause him to leave by force. They might not be legally empowered to do so [depending on the circumstance, see my earlier post], but that's sort of MrFun's point, isn't it?

[MrFun]

If he truly had power of attorney, the hospital had no legal right to ask him to leave as he's the one empowered to make decisions for the patient. So the question is, Are you telling the truth here?

[MrFun]

That's entirely inaccurate in every way possible. Power of Attorney does not give you the right to stand next to someone - it gives you the right to make decisions for them. Obvious example: if they were doing open heart surgery, you wouldn't be standing next to the person there.

Further, the hospital clearly is in a position of power and can cause him to leave by force. They might not be legally empowered to do so [depending on the circumstance, see my earlier post], but that's sort of MrFun's point, isn't it?

So then what loophole can gay partners jump through, to get an equivalent of visitation rights without being legally married if power of attorney does not cover visitation rights?

[DinoDoc]

That's entirely inaccurate in every way possible. Power of Attorney does not give you the right to stand next to someone - it gives you the right to make decisions for them. Obvious example: if they were doing open heart surgery, you wouldn't be standing next to the person there.

Pretty sure he wasn't in the operating room when they are alleged to have thrown him out.

[DinoDoc]

You act as if it wouldn't have been the first time you saw something and got to excited to check if it was a real event.

[MrFun]

That's entirely inaccurate in every way possible. Power of Attorney does not give you the right to stand next to someone - it gives you the right to make decisions for them. Obvious example: if they were doing open heart surgery, you wouldn't be standing next to the person there.

what DD said (doubtful this was in operating room)

[snoopy369]

So then what loophole can gay partners jump through, to get an equivalent of visitation rights without being legally married if power of attorney does not cover visitation rights?

I don't believe I made any statement in that regards. IANAL, so perhaps visitation rights are tied to Power of Attorney, or perhaps not. I merely stated they're not linked to the hospital's ability to remove someone from a room.

I didn't notice the "family member request" part of the article initially, so if that's truly the case then this does sound rather sad.

[snoopy369]

Pretty sure he wasn't in the operating room when they are alleged to have thrown him out.

The article is about four sentences long, so who knows, but my point was to go overboard to prove the negation of your statement, not to make a specific case statement here.

[MrFun]

You act as if it wouldn't have been the first time you saw something and got to excited to check if it was a real event.

I'll be damned if I am ever prohibited from being with my partner, Neal, should he be hospitalized for any reason.

So fuckin' sorry I'm human, and have an emotional reaction to this.

[MrFun]

I don't believe I made any statement in that regards. IANAL, so perhaps visitation rights are tied to Power of Attorney, or perhaps not. I merely stated they're not linked to the hospital's ability to remove someone from a room.

I didn't notice the "family member request" part of the article initially, so if that's truly the case then this does sound rather sad.

WTF does "IANAL" stand for?

I guess we need to wait for Imran or some other polytoner who is into law, to answer if power of attorney includes visitation rights for certain.

[The Mad Monk]

I Am Not A Lawyer