Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchkin03
I've never heard of the hospital preventing someone from seeing his/her same sex partner. Usually it's a next-of-kin, like a homophobic parent or jealous child from a previous heterosexual relationship, who's raising hell.
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Oh it certainly has happened and was very common early in the gay rights movement and in the early days of the AIDS epidemic. I'm very good friends with a gay couple (actually following them to Arizona.) One of them is a psychologist who specializes in couples therapy. He sees mostly gay couples but has been practicing in NYC since the 60s. He has told me so many sad stories of couples who couldn't visit their partners as they died in hospitals from complications of AIDS. They also couldn't inherit and often lost their homes after the death of their loved ones.
I do wonder what hospitals are still doing this, but there are still many catholic hospitals out there and other religious institution associated hospitals, as well as hospitals in very conservatives areas that may be refusing to let people visit their partners in the hospital. Just because we don't know about cases doesn't mean it still doesn't occur.