By Stephen Kopko
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
WASHINGTON D.C., United States-Another victory was won by gay-rights advocates in their campaign to gain equal rights. In a memorandum to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), President Barack Obama mandated that a majority of hospitals allow partners of homosexuals the same visitation rights as heterosexual couples.
President Obama wrote that there was a major problem in America where patients are denied access to those who most care for them by hospitals. Normally, hospitals only allow those people related by blood or marriage to visit a seriously ill patient or make medical decisions for that person. This issue particularly affects homosexual Americans. President Obama wrote “gay and lesbian Americans are often barred from the bedsides of the partners they may have spent decades of their lives.”
According to the memo, the Secretary of HHS, Kathleen Sebelius, is directed to develop rules to enforce hospitals to “respect the rights of patients to designate visitors.” The memo also directed the Secretary to begin developing rules allowing patients more freedom to choose who should be their medical proxy. Additionally, hospitals must honor power of attorney and health care proxy documents already created by couples. The new rules will apply to those hospitals that receive funding from Medicare and Medicaid. The procedures for creating new rules within agencies can last many months.
Opponents of the gay-rights movement criticized the mandate as granting special rights to homosexual couples. They see the mandate as intruding upon the fundamental principle of marriage: Marriage is between one man and one woman. Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council stated “the memorandum undermines the definition of marriage.” Nevertheless, many opponents of gay-rights support a person’s choice of who they want next to them during a health crises.
Supporters of the gay-rights movement applauded the mandate issued by the President. David Smith of the Human Rights Campaign stated, “We see this as part of our ongoing effort to encourage the administration to take action where it has authority to act.” Despite support for the homosexual community, the Obama Administration has been criticized by others as moving too slow on bringing equality to homosexuals. They believe that the President has not followed through on his campaign promises.
For more information, please see:
Los Angeles Times-Obama orders most hospital to grant gays visitation rights-16 April 2010
MSNBC-Obama Agenda: Same-Sex Visitation-16 April 2010
Washington Post-Obama extends hospital visitation rights to same-sex partners of gays-16 April 2010
