Civil Marriage Equality Is Important - Reason #9

In case you missed this item on April 15 2012. (I did.)

On April 14, 2012, the White House announced a rule change, which will grant visiting rights to same-sex partners. This is important as it will make it easier for all couples to make medical decisions on behalf of their partners.

The new rule applies to any hospital that participates in Medicare or Medicaid. 

Although the rule does not grant new rights it does 'draw attention to the very real and tragic situations many gays and lesbians face when a partner is hospitalized," said Richard Socarides, who advised President Clinton on gay rights issues.

Gay rights advocates said the rule change is an advance. “It’s a huge deal,” said David Smith, vice president of policy for the Human Rights Campaign. Smith and HRC worked with the Obama administration on the new rule. 

“Nearly every hospital in the country will now be required to provide hospital visitation rights to LGBT families. It’s an enormous step. In the absence of equal marriage rights in most jurisdictions, this step provides an essential right to LGBT families for a gay person or a lesbian person to spend time with their partner in a critical situation.”

The rules change was inspired by a hospital's refusal - for eight hours - to permit a patient's same-sex partner and their four adopted children to see the fatally ill patient. The visits were blocked at the hospital even though the partner had the patient's power of attorney. Ms. Pond died as Ms. Langbehn tried in vain to get to her side. 
(The couple, Janice Langbehn and Lisa Pond, were profiled in The New York Times in 2009.)  

In conjunction with the rule change, President Obama called Ms. Langbehn, who said later to the New York Times:

“I was so humbled that he would know Lisa’s name and know our story. He apologized for how we were treated. For the last three years, that’s what I’ve been asking the hospital to do. Even now, three years later, they still refuse to apologize to the children and I for the fact that Lisa died alone.”

SOURCE:

Obama Widens Medical Rights for Gay Partners - NYTimes.com