Lesbian dies while Florida hospital denies partner and children visitation rights
”I feel like a failure for not holding her hand… For Lisa, who was the love of my life, my soulmate, who I miss ever day — but I’m finding the strength to speak out so this does not have to happen to any other family. What happened to us was very wrong…. You know, we knew sign language: We could have at least signed in her hand while she could have felt it. And we didn’t get to do that.”
Janice Langbehn speaking at an emotional press briefing about a lawsuit that she and her three adopted children are bringing against Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Lanbehn’s partner, Lisa Pond, suffered a brain aneurysm aboard a gay-friendly cruise ship this past February. After being taken to JMH, Lanbehn and the children were denied visitation by the hospital even after having documents faxed from their home in Washington state. (Local 10 News)
”[The Hospital social worker, Garnett Frederick,] provided a warning: ‘You’re in an anti-gay city and in an anti-gay state and you can expect to get no information about your partner and no access to your partner unless you get before a judge…. In this case, of course, we have a durable power of attorney that not only allowed Janice to get information, but required the hospital to give her information”
Beth Litrell, an attorney with Lambda Legal, remarking on the hospital visitation denial of Janice Langbehn to see her dying partner, Lisa Pond. (Local 10 News)
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