Hospital Visits Made Easier for LGBTQ Couples/Parents

From parentsociety.com column I write:
Roger Gorley and Allen Mansell’s loving, normal life as a same-sex couple was radically changed in the past few weeks when Allen went into the Kansas City, Missouri’s Research Medical Center to deal with his depression. Roger and Allen went into the hospital with all the legal papers — otherwise known as power of attorney — needed for a same-sex couple when one of the individuals in the relationship goes into a hospital.
Unlike straight couples, same-sex couples need to have paper to prove who has power to decide on the medical care of the other person, when he or she is not capable of making a medical decision. Allen’s brother, Lee Mansell, did not care about the papers that the couple had signed, giving each other the power to make the decisions in the hospital. Instead, Lee had Roger forcibly removed from the hospital, because Allen’s family is disapproving of Allen and Roger’s relationship. Roger fought back against the personnel of the hospital and Allen’s brother as he struggled to stay by his partner Allen’s side. Roger then was told that he was not to step foot into the hospital again. A lawsuit has now been filed against the Medical Center, with a fund being raised for attorney’s costs.

More here: http://www.parentsociety.com/todays-family/same-sex-parents/hospital-visits-made-easy-for-lgbtq-parents/