The Washington Post reports that President Obama mandated Thursday (April 15th) that nearly all hospitals extend visitation rights to the partners of gay men and lesbians and respect patients' choices about who may make critical health-care decisions for them, perhaps the most significant step so far in his efforts to expand the rights of gay Americans.
President Obama directed a memo to the Department of Health and Human Services to prohibit discrimination in hospital visitation. According to administration officials and gay activists, the new rule will affect any hospital that receives Medicare or Medicaid funding. This means that the rule will apply to the vast majority of the nation's health-care institutions.
Comments