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

[Docfeelgood]

Catholic hospital?

[DinoDoc]

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.

Assuming this actually happened and the guy actually had a durable power of attorney for health care, it was my understanding that this document showed that you appointed the person in question to make medical decisions on your behalf when you become incapacitated (as it sounds like the patient was). The person whom you designate to speak for you is referred to as your “proxy”, or “attorney-in-fact”, or “agent” which is what leads me to the conclusion that the hospital and the family member lacked the authority to order the man to leave.

[Jon Miller]

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.

Power of attorney does trump family member request, I would think.

The hospital acted wrongly here. But I don't think it is anything that 'marriage equality' would solve.

JM

[MrFun]

But I don't think it is anything that 'marriage equality' would solve.

JM

How so? You're telling me that if a straight man and a straight woman are married, and if the husband had to be hospitalized, that a family member of husband's can still order the wife to be removed from the room?

[Jon Miller]

Just as much as a family member could order the man with power of attorney from the room.

Power of attorney means that the legal system (and thus the hospital) should listen to the man and not the 'family'.

There is no requirement that hospitals listen to siblings versus children versus husbands/wives versus partners versus parents... other than the person with power of attorney.

JM

[MrFun]

Just as much as a family member could order the man with power of attorney from the room.

Power of attorney means that the legal system (and thus the hospital) should listen to the man and not the 'family'.

JM

Interesting. On what basis could a husband or wife of a legal, opposite-sex marriage be denied visitation rights?

[Jon Miller]

The same basis as this partner with power of attorney.

Once more:

Power of Attorney gives legal power in the situation to person A.
Person B requested that person A be removed.
The legal system went to remove person A which they had no right to do because person B did not have the legal power in the situation.

It doesn't matter if person A was the wife/husband or homosexual partner.

JM

[MrFun]

The same basis as this partner with power of attorney.

JM

Sorry, I don't follow.

The basis in which the gay man was removed from his loved one's bedside was because a family member finds gay people to be "icky."

So you're saying a family member can remove a husband or wife from a hospital room of their opposite sex spouse if the person finds straight people to be "icky?"

[Jon Miller]

The family member didn't have the right to.

The legal person/hospital responsible made a wrong decision.

Just like if someone in the family found mix-raced couples 'icky' and asked the wife/husband to be removed.

JM

[MrFun]

The same basis as this partner with power of attorney.

Once more:

Power of Attorney gives legal power in the situation to person A.
Person B requested that person A be removed.
The legal system went to remove person A which they had no right to do because person B did not have the legal power in the situation.

It doesn't matter if person A was the wife/husband or homosexual partner.

JM

Ah, okay. I thought you were talking about a LEGAL basis in which someone can order a spouse with power of attorney to be removed from hospital room.

But yeah, obviously it still happens, but I thought you were arguing that it is legal.

[MrFun]

However, I still believe that equal, legal marriage rights for gay people will prevent more of these sad incidents from happening.

The stupid hospital staff just need to have it drilled through their thick skulls that they are not to abide by the demands of someone who has no legal standing to make such demands.

[snoopy369]

Realistically what will prevent this from happening is a change in the mindset of people, which is happening. Not as quickly as you'd like, but it is happening - and a lot faster than it did for black people, women, or any other group (presumably because we're in a more enlightened era).

DD, Imran or whatnot could tell us something, but I doubt he could tell us for sure, unless he did the research; this would be a state law, as far as I know.

[MrFun]

Realistically what will prevent this from happening is a change in the mindset of people, which is happening. Not as quickly as you'd like, but it is happening - and a lot faster than it did for black people, women, or any other group (presumably because we're in a more enlightened era).

DD, Imran or whatnot could tell us something, but I doubt he could tell us for sure, unless he did the research; this would be a state law, as far as I know.

How about informing hospital staff, including the security personnel, who are ignorant about power of attorney laws, so that they don't wet their pants and cave at a hysterical, homophobic mother who demands her son's gay partner be removed from hospital room even though the partner has power of attorney?

I think hospital staff and security personnel being educated on this and growing a spine in the face of hyperventilating people can prevent more of these sad incidents.

[snoopy369]

Hmm, there was an executive order in 2010 ordering hospitals with medicare/medicaid funding to allow visitation rights to same-sex partners. I am very very curious to know whether that is constitutional or not [same reasoning as the Obamacare case].

The one thing that makes me wonder a bit about this, is that a restraining order was issued pursuant to the arrest. That means this did make it to the legal system, at least briefly. I think it's an order of magnitude less likely for a judge to go against the law here as opposed to a hospital. I wonder if he fought the security guards or something else that's not being reported here, or even if he got into a physical fight with the family members prior to being expelled.

[snoopy369]

How about informing hospital staff, including the security personnel, who are ignorant about power of attorney laws, so that they don't wet their pants and cave at a hysterical, homophobic mother who demands her son's gay partner be removed from hospital room even though the partner has power of attorney?

I think hospital staff and security personnel being educated on this and growing a spine in the face of hyperventilating people can prevent more of these sad incidents.

The hospital administration are still human beings, MrFun. I agree that they should do this, but it doesn't surprise me that it's not pervasive yet. Like I said, I think this will happen, and it will happen sooner rather than later. It's not a bad thing to continually point out where it doesn't happen so that it improves; but also have a bit of perspective here. Gay rights have advanced very, very quickly in recent years, but things still do take time.