Yesterday Scout Finch posted a diary about a gay man who was arrested and forcibly ejected from his partner's hospital room in Kansas City, MO.
Despite the couple's having been in a civil union (unrecognized in Missouri of course) and having reciprocal medical powers of attorney (which should have been legally binding on the hospital despite Missouri's laws), Roger Corley was arrested while visiting his partner Allen Mansell at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
Today Think Progress has provided additional background on this situation which, if anything, makes the hospital's actions appear not only less justifiable but even more egregious than they originally appeared.
As was noted in yesterday's diary, this is just another example of why marriage equality matters.
I'll continue beyond the swirl.
Some background facts:
- The couple have been together for about five years.
- At some point they obtained a civil union (I cannot determine which state they went to; Missouri does not recognize same-sex relationships in any manner).
- Mansell suffers from disabling depression, for which he is currently undergoing treatment, albeit at a different hospital from the one at which the incident occurred. Because of the couple's awareness that they would need to protect their rights by means other than the civil union they had obtained a reciprocal power of attorney empowering each partner to make medical decisions on behalf of the other.
- Gorley has an adult daughter who maintains a close relationship with both her father and her father's partner and spends at least a portion of her time caring for Mansell while Gorley is at work. John Aravosis conducted an interview with Gorley's daughter, who was in the hospital room when her father was arrested. (The interview was linked in the Think Progress piece).
- Despite the federal regulations requiring that individuals in same-sex relationships have those relationships respected when they are undergoing treatment at any medical facility which receives federal monies (that is to say, Medicare or Medicaid payments) the hospital initially refused to comply with the law or even admit the existence of the power of attorney document.
When Gorley attempted to assert his right to be present in his partner's hospital room and to make medical decisions on his partner's behalf, the hospital, Mansell's brother objected and, despite the existence of the medical power of attorney, was able to convince hospital staff that Gorley was the intruder with the result that Gorley was forcibly removed from both the hospital room and the hospital despite Mansell's objection.
What is clear from the Think Progress piece is that
Allen has specifically excluded his family from having any say over his medical decisions because they have not been understanding of the impact of his depression. [snip]
Allen’s family has not been supportive of his relationship with Roger.
Actually it appears, based on a comment on yet another forum, that Mansell is not without support within his own family.
Roger's daughter Amanda Brown and son-in-law have established a legal fund for Roger and Allen. Roger has a $600 fine with KC police department and Lee has now filed elder abuse charges against Roger in order to revoke his POA.
The quote above is posted by someone who appears to be related to Mansell on the local Fox affiliate's
news item covering further developments in the case.
Although the local chapter of the ACLU appears to be on top of this on behalf of Mansell and Gorley, it is clear that the hospital violated the express wishes of a patient in defiance of federal regulations. It should also be fairly obvious from the above that none of this would have happened were Roger and Allen in a legally-recognized marriage.