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ACLU: Hospital discriminated against gay couple

Associated Press
Tuesday Jun 16, 2009
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FRESNO, Calif. - Civil rights groups are urging a hospital in central California to change its policies after employees briefly barred a lesbian from visiting her partner, who went into seizure at a gay marriage march.

Kristin Orbin collapsed May 30 after walking 14 miles in the protest march. She was taken to Fresno’s Community Regional Medical Center, where she says an ambulance driver kept her partner from seeing her in the emergency room.

Teresa Rowe says hospital employees also ignored her requests to talk to a doctor about Orbin’s care.

Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Center for Lesbian Rights on Monday urged the hospital to change its policies.

The nonprofit system that runs the hospital says Orbin received good care and the hospital followed proper procedures.

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Comments

  • BB, 2009-06-16 13:38:15

    The last thing emergency rooms needs is hysterical third parties wanting to talk to a doctor about a patient’s care. Having just had to take my partner into an emergency room setting, I didn’t whine about it when I was kept in the lobby and informed about things when the hard working and dedicated medical staff had time to some speak to me. Why don’t we go chase the gay marriage agenda elsewhere and leave emergency rooms to do their fine work without having to become places of social engineering.


  • Anonymous, 2009-06-17 19:17:20

    BB, you’re an idoit. If my husband is in an accident or is sick, I’m the one who makes decisions about his care and he does the same for me. They have no right to keep me from the doctor or asking questions. You might be submissive when it comes to hospital care, we’ve been around long enough to know that you have to be proactive or the little redneck hospital just might let the little faggot die off in the corner. Grow a pair. Demand to be treated the same. No special treatment, but the same treatment. Only then can we stop thinking of ourselves as second-class citizens.


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