a wonderful thing--I hope

[pastwatcher]

Obama has ordered hospitals to provide same-sex couples with visitation rights. And right of attorney, to boot.

This is one of the things I find most important among marriage "benefits".

What's the catch?

If there isn't a catch...is it just that Obama realized he could do this and wanted to wait until the healthcare bill was securely passed? I'm curious to see if his Politifact promise gets updated.

Comments

[complexzeta.livejournal.com]

Yeah, he suddenly seems to be doing good things. Maybe he'll do something about DADT next.

[ophblekuwufu.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's really exciting.

I have to say, though, I think any hospital system that doesn't allow people to designate any sort of person they want as the people who have to be allowed in to visit is crazy. Gay couples are only the most obvious people such a policy discriminates against. Should unmarried people die alone? If you hate your family and want your best friend to be the person making the call for when to pull the plug, should you not have the right to do that? What the hell, world? People don't all have the same priorities--can't you let them tell you what they think is important rather than imposing your normative values upon them in their hour of need? It sounded like the Obama directive was moving somewhat in the direction of sanity in this regard, but not far enough.

[dergnoam.livejournal.com]

It aint over yet:http://www.metroweekly.com/news/?ak=5093

Obama doesn't have the power to directly change the rules. The agency now has to do a rulemaking, with a whole process of soliciting public comment and the like. http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/blog/09/06/19/Rulemaking20/
Probably take a coupla months to do.