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Editorial: State helps lead the way on path to equal rights
In widening hospital visitation rights for same-sex couples, the Obama administration last week cited the tragic story of a Washington state couple.
In 2007, Janice Langbehn, Lisa Pond and three of their four children were set to embark on a cruise out of Florida when Pond was stricken with a brain aneurysm and rushed to a hospital. Though the couple had been together for 17 years and Langbehn had power of attorney, she and her children were denied visitation for eight hours. Pond died before her partner could get to her bedside.
Rather than accept the ignominy of second-class status, Langbehn, a social worker from Lacey, Wash., fought back in court. She lost, but her case became a well-publicized example of the wrongheadedness of this common hospital policy.
On Thursday, President Barack Obama ordered the health secretary to write rules allowing visitation for same-sex couples. Restrictions for them cannot be any more stringent than they are for married couples. Hospitals can opt out, but if they do, they would lose Medicare and Medicaid funding.
After the announcement, Obama telephoned Langbehn and said that her case helped motivate the change. It is fitting that a Washington state couple would be so inspirational, because that cold-hearted Florida scenario could not play out in this state today.
Last May, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the “everything but marriage” law, which was then upheld at the ballot box when a citizen initiative attempted to overturn it. The law added registered same-sex couples to all statutes that applied to married couples. It was the culmination of efforts to end government discrimination against gays and lesbians when it comes to housing, hiring, hospital visitation, child custody and many other legal matters.
The Obama administration has vowed to build on the progress established by states such as ours.
Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council says Obama’s order “undermines the definition of marriage.” But if this definition is wedded to discrimination, then it needs to be undermined, and that begins with showing how the traditional interpretation is blatantly unfair.
We don’t doubt the power of the word “marriage.” Obama himself has professed to being conflicted about extending the right to marry to same-sex couples. But if he continues down the path of fairness and moral courage paved by this case and others, such as the unraveling of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, he will end up agreeing that gay marriage is the logical finish line.
In the meantime, Washington state can take pride in being out front on such an important civil rights issue.