can go awry. Sometime we call this "law in action"--when the legally correct thing is ignored, and the person in front of you says something else is required or expected. Case in point, the instances where same-sex partners were denied visitation access to their ill partners in hospitals. The New York Times reported on two such couples, where the access-seeking partner had a valid health care power of attorney, but was turned away anyway.[One] case, now the subject of a federal lawsuit in Florida, is being watched by gay rights groups, which say same-sex partners often report being excluded from a patient’s room because they aren’t “real” family members.
And lawyers say the case could affect the way hospitals treat all patients with nonmarital relationships, including older people who choose not to marry, unmarried heterosexual couples and single people who rely on the support of close friends rather than relatives.
One point of contention in the lawsuit is whether a hospital has a legal duty to its patients to always give visiting rights to their designated family members and surrogates.
Stay turned for an interesting, evolving area of healthcare, family, and patient-rights law.
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