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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Same-sex couple wins policy fight

State officials will now let married same-sex couples list both their names on their children’s birth certificates in a policy shift deeply important to many gays and lesbians.

The decision, which echoes similar provisions in states that allow gay marriages or civil unions, is one of many changes since Gov. David Paterson ordered state agencies in May to respect out-of-state gay marriages.

The state Health Department said Friday it had agreed to the change, which came after a lesbian couple who are expecting a baby filed a lawsuit. The change would apply statewide except in New York City, which is considering revamping its own birth certificate forms to accommodate same-sex couples.

Under state law, a woman’s husband is automatically deemed a parent of a child the pair conceives through artificial insemination, whether or not he is the genetic father. Gay couples have complained about having to jump through legal hoops to secure equivalent parental rights.

Carolyn Trzeciak and Nina Sheldon Trzeciak of Ulster County, who got married in Canada in 2006, sued last month. Nina Sheldon Trzeciak is carrying their first child, conceived through in vitro fertilization.

ROCHESTER, N.Y.

Man convicted in body part case

A former funeral director in upstate New York was convicted Friday of illegally harvesting body parts from corpses that were then sold to a company that marketed such material for medical procedures.

Jason Gano, 32, was found guilty of removing body parts without permission from 17 corpses.

He was the first of seven people expected to stand trial on charges of illegally dissecting skin, bone and other parts from three dozen bodies being prepared for cremation at three Rochester-area funeral homes in 2005.

During a monthlong trial, the defense argued that a biomedical company in New Jersey called Biomedical Tissue Services sent Gano forged documents indicating relatives had given their consent. But prosecutors countered that Gano systematically allowed the company’s employees to loot bodies without permission.

Jurors convicted Gano of 17 counts each of opening graves and body stealing, both felonies, and unlawful dissection, a misdemeanor, as well as one count of scheming to defraud. He was acquitted of charges related to the unauthorized removal of parts from six corpses. He faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing Jan. 16.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia

Burglar claims freedom stolen

A news report says a burglar who broke into a house claims he was held captive by a “supernatural figure” for three days without food and water.

Police official Abdul Marlik Hakim Johar told the Star newspaper the house’s owners found the 36-year-old man fatigued and dehydrated when they returned from vacation Thursday.

He says they called an ambulance to take him to a hospital.

The man told police that every time he tried to escape, a “supernatural figure” shoved him to the ground.

Abdul Marlik could not immediately be reached and other police officials declined to comment.

From wire reports