Hospital Visitation Case Dismissed

By Julie Bolcer

A federal court in Miami threw out the case of a lesbian denied the right to visit her dying partner in a Florida hospital, saying that no law required the hospital to admit visitors.

Janice Langbehn, a Washington state resident, filed the suit against Jackson Memorial Hospital after Lisa Pond, her partner of 17 years, died there in 2007. Pond suffered a brain aneurysm prior to a Caribbean gay cruise with their three children, and a hospital social worker refused to let Langbehn visit her dying partner, allegedly saying that Florida was “an antigay state.”

The court ruled in favor of the hospital, according to The Miami Herald, in a decision that Langbehn’s attorney called “extreme.”

"The hospital took the position that we thought was pretty extreme -- that it has no duty, no legal obligation, to allow visitors [of any sort] in the hospital. The court agreed,'' said Beth Littrell, a staff attorney for Lambda Legal, according to the Herald.

Jackson Memorial denied that it treats gay patients and their families any differently from other patients.

- Click here to follow The Advocate on Twitter.

‹‹Previous Article in Category | Next Article in Category››

Reader Comments

Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: Samantha
Date posted: 10/21/2009 7:09:03 PM
Hometown: Los Angeles

Comment:
This story is heartbreaking and infuriating. What's terrifying about it is the hospital's complete disregard for the Langbehn-Pond family's legal, medical paperwork. Anyone - straight, gay, lesbian, married, or unmarried - who's taken the time to express to a loved one how they would like to die and created the proper legal documentation should be appalled that this hospital, a teaching hospital, has been able to get away with this behavior. I also thought you might find this posting from Janice Langbehn's blog motivating and helpful: thelpkids(dot)com and look for the posting titled "what the common citizen can do".
Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: Allen
Date posted: 10/3/2009 2:28:20 AM
Hometown: Dallas

Comment:
Jackson Memorial Hospital http://www.jhsmiami.org/default.cfm
Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: Allen
Date posted: 10/3/2009 1:40:30 AM
Hometown: Dallas

Comment:
Someone type out the name of the Hospital and the address PLEASE
Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: DeeDee
Date posted: 10/1/2009 9:07:26 PM
Hometown: Richmond,VA

Comment:
Dan is right everyone who reads this artical should e-mail that hospital. I did thanks for the email address Dan. We as a community have got to start pushing our leaders to get these events out of gay only publications and into the main stream media. In my opinion how is this not prime time news worthy! Our leaders have got to stop kissing ass and start Kicking ass!
Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: Dan
Date posted: 10/1/2009 5:19:49 PM
Hometown: College Park, MD

Comment:
http://www.jhsmiami.org/landing.cfm?id=9419 Let them know how you feel....call, write, fax, etc.
Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: Sandy
Date posted: 9/30/2009 11:27:46 PM
Hometown: Lansing, MI

Comment:
I just visited the hospital's website and they list visitor's hours and responsibilities. How could this hospital make the claim that they are not required to even allow visitors while still posting this info. How bad are the courts in Florida that this argument was permitted when clearly it was not about visitors but who was visiting? Another reason to never travel to that state. I can spend my money elsewhere.
Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: Marc
Date posted: 9/30/2009 10:09:13 PM
Hometown: Ft. Lauderdale

Comment:
This lesbian couple HAD medical legal papers and she provided them to the hospital and Jackson STILL denied them access. That is what is even MORE horrifying. How they can legally get away with it is beyond me! I hope Lambda escalates this further.
Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: Matt
Date posted: 9/30/2009 9:56:14 PM
Hometown: Columbus OH

Comment:
This is why gay couples need to have legal documents that give us as many rights as possible. You need to have medical powers of attorney for each other and medical visitation agreements. It is not fair, but it the only way to protect your relationship - and make sure you can be there for each other. My partner and I have 3 kids and live in Ohio - a state does not allow gay marriage, domestic partnership or co-adoptions. The legal documents necessary to protect our family is lengthy, but absolutely critical.
Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: Sam B.
Date posted: 9/30/2009 7:54:54 PM
Hometown: Menlo Park, CA

Comment:
And they wonder why we hate Christians so much. "Oh, but who said it was about religion?" Puh-leaze. Stop right there, Myrtle, because while you may be able to be dishonest to yourself, I'm not going to allow it directed at me. "OK, but that's THOSE types of Christians - I'm not THAT type of Christian." OK, so why the hell aren't you out there being vocal and denouncing THOSE types of Christians? Why is it that the only vocal Christians are the anti-abortion and the anti-Gay crowd? Those people have hijacked your faith and you've willingly let them. You willingly allow them to continue their vile evil, and in the name of YOUR SAVIOR! If for that fact alone, you should be fighting them - but you don't. You just sit there and whine about how us Gays are maligning you all as one group. If you don't like it - then get serious and show us how Christians are SUPPOSED to act. Kick those bastards out of your churches, run them from the airwaves. OR - get used to being lumped in with them.
Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: Sandrine
Date posted: 9/30/2009 7:21:08 PM
Hometown: Paris, France

Comment:
I don't understrand this. A sick person can always get visitors in the hospital. Did they specifically askeds the plaintiff is she was the same sex partner and if so what would have been the reason? Also was the patient denied other visitors? And since her children were also there in the state did they also forbid them from seeing her? There has got to me more to this story than what was told. Hospitals are busy places so the idea there would be a guard standing outside her door and asking intrusive questions sounds so weird. In any case this is just cruel. Although I do not support gay marraiges for religious reasons I find this decision absolutely insane. A dying person needs to be comforted by loved ones at the very end and denying her that comfort was downright tragic. Hospitals should be all about saving lives and not worrying about who is sleeping in whose bed.

PREVIOUS 1 2 NEXT

Don't Miss

News Features WATCH: Son Defends Two Moms in Prop. 8 Case
Seventeen-year-old Spencer Perry is the latest of a number of young people who are standing up for their gay and lesbian parents and showing that the kids are all right, no matter what politicians might say.

Commentary Op-ed: Our Groups Need More Color in Their Rainbow

LGBT organizations need more racially diverse leaders, and there are a number of resolvable reasons why they are now lacking, argues Jimmy Nguyen.

News WATCH: Dustin Lance Black on Prop. 8, Election 2012
Dustin Lance Black, the screenwriter and founding board member for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, spoke to The Advocate after an appeals court called Prop. 8 unconstitutional.

Commentary Op-ed: Disliking Us Is No Longer a Legal Rationale

What the appeals court judges said in their ruling on Proposition 8’s constitutionality will have far-reaching consequences, and that has our opponents freaking out.

Television World’s First Openly Gay Royal Is on Fairy Tale Search for Love
India's gay Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil was burned in effigy when he surprised his countrymen and came out. Now he's going undercover to find love on a new reality show on TLC.

News Features Filmmakers Work for Marriage Equality
Instead of the typical campaign commercials advocating against antigay ballot initiatives like North Carolina's Amendment 1, Working Films is going deeper to show how these laws harm families.

Commentary Op-ed: Why We Are Fighting Meth

The executive producers for the Hollywood Rush witnessed a friend’s struggle with the drug and are trying to do something about it.

Music The Advocate Editors' Personal Madonna Moments
In honor of our March cover subject, we're sharing our own Madonna recollections, including getting nearly trampled by her fans and receiving correspondence from the lady herself.

Commentary Advice: Two Weddings, Two Sets of Gifts?
One groom-to-be asks what to do if you've already been married once before, but not "gay-married." Is it taboo to ask friends for wedding gifts again?

Television Housewives' Kyle Loves You, But Hands Off Her Mauricio
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Kyle Richards tells us about fending off gay advances toward her husband and receiving come-ons from lesbians.

News Quinn to Christie: Stop “Playing Games” With Marriage
New York City Council speaker Christine Quinn said that Gov. Chris Christie appears to be playing a “political game” with his call for a marriage equality referendum in New Jersey.

News Prop. 8 Recordings Could Still Be Made Public ... in 2020
Court rules mandate that documents filed under seal become public 10 years after a decision in the case — unless a legal party shows “good cause” as to why they should remain out of the public’s hands.

Best of Broadway Smash: Why You Will Love It
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, two of the producers of NBC’s new critically acclaimed musical series, explain why the backstage drama of creating a musical about Marilyn Monroe has mass appeal and why big stars like Anjelica Huston, Uma Thurman, Bernadette Peters, and Nick Jonas were eager to appear in it.

Best of Broadway The Advocate Staff Remembers: Best of Broadway
The staff of The Advocate turns back the pages of time and shares their favorite Broadway memories. We asked for yours earlier so it only seemed fair that we share, too.

Best of Broadway Sometimes a Hat Makes a Big Difference
Who has the best Easter bonnet? It's just another of the unexpected ways that Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS raises money for the cause.

News Psychedelic Queen of Pop (Art)
The March 2012 issue of The Advocate kicks off our 45th anniversary by paying homage to its birth year, 1967.

Best of Broadway Dressing Felicia: Priscilla's Costume Designer Talks Shop
Costume designer Tim Chappel shares private sketches with The Advocate of his work on The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and gives the behind-the-scenes scoop on that flip-flop dress.

Best of Broadway How Broadway Does a Flea Market
Find out why actress Kathleen Chalfant calls the annual Flea Market and Grand Auction in Times Square "the most glamorous flea market you've ever seen." It raised half a million dollars to fight HIV/AIDS.

Best of Broadway Especially for You, It All Goes Backwards on Broadway
Here's your chance to hear the best of Broadway sung with you in mind at the annual Broadway Backwards event.

Best of Broadway You Picked: Broadway's Best Moments
We asked for your most loved and loathed moments from the Broadway stage. Here are eight of our reader's favorite musical moments, plus two that were not so well received.

Travel Gayest Cities in America, 2012
It's no secret that megalopolises New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles have robust LGBT life — and we've even heard tell of little queer hoods like the Castro and P-Town. This isn't that list.

Business Best Companies List: Who Is on Your Side?
The Human Rights Campaign released its newly updated Corporate Equality Index today. Here's the complete list of companies that scored 100% for being LGBT-friendly.