Gay rights & hospital policy

I don't care what your stance on the gay rights issue is. We each have our own opinions that are formed from our different experiences and beliefs. But there is no way that anyone could agree with the actions of the doctors and hospital staff towards Janice Langbehn.

"When a loved one is in the hospital, you naturally want to be at the bedside. But what if the staff won’t allow it?

That’s what Janice Langbehn...experienced when her partner of 18 years, Lisa Pond, collapsed with an aneurysm....She died there, at age 39, as Ms. Langbehn tried in vain to persuade hospital officials to let her visit, along with the couple’s adopted children."

At what point does policy overrule or outweigh personal decision making? Mrs. Langbehn's partner had clearly chosen to spend her life with her; they had children together, spent 18 years together, where taking a vacation together, and had filled out health care proxy paperwork.

Should not the hospital and staff, no matter their personal beliefs or hospital policy, honored the LEGAL right that Janice Langhehn had to visit, care for, and make medical decisions for her partner?