When thinking of Equal Rights for ALL it is bound to result in a heated debate amongst those who think that members of the GLBT community are some sort of ‘less’ of a human because of who they love!! Whether you agree with us, and our lifestyle, is entirely up to you!! Personally, I pick my battles as I am completely OK with living my life as I am, an openly out and proud lesbian, completely in love with my partner.
What I disagree with, and will fight against, is discriminatory practices directed towards the GLBT community based purely on the fact that we are in a same-sex relationship, and therefore somehow not allowed to participate in the same rights and laws afforded to the heterosexual community.
I saw the following story on the GLAAD website, you can find it HERE . It sickened me and knowing that this could happen to me, or any of my friends, infuriates me!! Read the story and I think you’ll understand why I say this.
When we set out on a family cruise with three of our adopted children in South Florida, we could never have known that Lisa would experience a brain aneurysm. At the hospital, I tried to follow the gurney carrying a critically ill Lisa into the trauma bay, but was told to go to the waiting area. After a short while, I was approached by a social worker who told me that I was “in an anti-gay city and state”and that I would not be allowed to see Lisa or make decisions about her care without a health care proxy. I contacted close friends back in Olympia who faxed the necessary documents over to the hospital while I continued to pace the tiny waiting room with our anxious children.
We watched as other families were welcomed back to see their loved ones, and the anger and frustration grew inside of me as I waited for someone to acknowledge receipt of the forms that guaranteed my legal rights as Lisa’s partner. Finally, a surgeon came out to inform me that Lisa had suffered massive bleeding and asked my consent to place a pressure monitor on her brain. That was the only indication I had that the hospital had received our documents.
I was not able to join Lisa until the priest arrived to administer her Last Rites. For the first time since arriving at the hospital, I was allowed to hold her hand for a few minutes. Then, I was ushered back out into the waiting room.
The children and I needed to be with Lisa during her final hours, yet we were repeatedly denied. The hospital, in their unwillingness to recognize us as a family, forced Lisa to leave this Earth without us by her side. I felt like a failure.
Would this be considered OK treatment of a legally (in the eyes of the government) married couple, and their children. While I wish this on NO ONE, it does happen and irrespective of our relationship status we should be allowed to be with our loved ones as they pass on!! I am choosing to share this story so that I can spread knowledge that in the 21st century this is still happening!! And if you have the opportunity, ever, to stand up for a basic human right, let this be one of them!!
In addition to this story, I want to share the following two videos. Watch and perhaps you’ll be as affected as I was when I watched them.
Two Lesbians Raised A Baby And This Is What They Got
It’s Time
Oh my goodness, that’s awful
to answer your question:
No, it is not acceptable, period.
Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read this!!
Cooks I read this before maybe on another site, but honestly it made me cry, how disgusting and heartless are these people. It is just so unfair, makes me remember that movie I saw that I kept mentioning you about these these two elderly woman that had lived together from the time they were young and the one dying and how the other one lost everything as legally everything was unfortunately in the other ladies name. My heart broke then and it breaks now. Love you darling and love all the gay people out there in the world.
Why does the hospital feel that it has a responsibility to uphold something so unconstitutional and unethical??? I don’t care if someone is gay, straight, bi… whatever. You love who you love and the state shouldn’t stand in the way of that (and this is coming from a moderate-Republican). Whatever your religious beliefs are, they shouldn’t stand in the way of someone’s happiness. Neither should anyone’s political beliefs. That poor woman should have been with her wife – not sitting in a waiting room being ignored! I feel for her- it’s unimaginable and should be completely illegal to do what the hospital did.
Thank you for your reply!! I appreciate it, I really do!! I just hope that these sort of acts are stopped!!! Unethical!!
My best friend in high school was gay. There wasn’t a day we didn’t spend together. While everyone else was out getting drunk and high on the weekends, he spent his weekends off from work teaching me how to cook, going shopping with me, and hanging out at the movies. On Sundays he was playing the piano in his church. I admired him more than anyone. I’ll never forget the time I got a really bad hair cut. He was furious and drug me back to the beauty salon and chewed the guy out who did my hair and demanded someone else fix it. I was horrified but I got a cute cut that time lol. I miss him dearly. Just out of high school he found out he wasn’t going to live long. He worked even harder and paid for his own funeral. He picked out his casket and even ordered his flowers. He didn’t want the burden to fall on his parents. He is buried just a few miles from here. I go by there often. I’ll never meet another person like him. He wasn’t defined by me by who he loved but by what he stood for and the goodness that was inside of him.
This treatment is totally unacceptable in any circumstance. Not only was her wife not allowed in the room – neither were the children! How heartless! I was with my mom just hours before she passed and I can’t believe the doctors and nurses would deny them those last few hours, they are so important for the healing process.
Wow, that is just horrible. And absolutely unacceptable.
I find this outrageous too! I can’t believe that in this day in age, people are still this ignorant. They can’t even see love of a family when it’s right in their face.
Stopping by from MBS, leaving a review now. Hope you can do the same!