Shocking story out of Miami as a mother falls ill and a Florida hospital refuses visitation for her partner and her children:
OLYMPIA — Four months ago, Lacey resident Janice Langbehn, her partner Lisa Pond and their children Katie, David and Danielle, ages 10 to 13, were set for a relaxing cruise from Miami to the Bahamas.
But Pond, Langbehn’s partner for nearly 18 years, was stricken in Miami with a brain aneurysm and died. The family says the way they were treated by hospital staff compounded their shock and grief.
Langbehn, a social worker, said officials at the University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Hospital did not recognize her or their jointly adopted children as part of Pond’s family. They were not allowed to be with her in the emergency room, and Langbehn’s authority to make decisions for Pond was not recognized.
“We never set out to change the world or change how others accept gay families,” Langbehn told the crowd at the Capital City Pride on Sunday. “We just wanted to be allowed to live equally and raise our children by giving them all the same opportunities their peers have.”
Read the full story below: I don't know that I'll be taking any trips to Florida any time soon. Lacey woman shares tale of denial at bedside of her dying partner
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
That is horrible. What is WRONG with people that they are still so freakin' ignorant in 2008?
This just breaks my heart. How ... HOW can people believe this is right? And all in the name of some fucking god, too.
This is awful. If any gay couple hasn't done so, get your papers in order. Those power of attorneys are so essential. If we don't protect ourselves, nobody else will.
I remember reading an update to that story. The lady died a year ago, (that story is from last June). February of this year, on the anniversary of her death, the surviving spouse and children filed a wrongful death suit against the hospital.
Hopefully it will institute change at the hospital.
Post a Comment