Health-care fears loom large in gay marriage cases

Indianapolis (AP) — When Niki Quasney felt a piercing pain in her ribcage in March, the oncologist treating her advanced ovarian cancer told her to get to an emergency room immediately.

But instead of making the short drive to a hospital near her home in Munster, Indiana, she drove alone for more than 40 minutes to one in neighboring Illinois. Quasney said she was "terrified" her local hospital might not allow her and her partner of more than 13 years, whom she wed last year in another state, to be together if she suffered a health emergency.

Quasney and her partner, Amy Sandler, are among dozens of couples challengingIndiana's and Wisconsin's gay marriage bans in a case being heard Tuesday in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. Looming large in the case is the issue of medical emergencies faced by same-sex couples.

The couples are suing for the right to marry or to have their out-of-state marriages recognized in their home states. They argue that powers of attorney and domestic partner registries don't guarantee they'll be allowed to make critical end-of-life or life-saving decisions. No legal document, they say, can provide the same protections as a marriage certificate.

Judi Trampf said that became clear when her partner of 25 years, Katy Heyning, suffered a seizure in New Orleans several years ago. The Madison, Wisconsin, couple had health care powers-of-attorney allowing each other to make medical decisions for the other, but that paperwork was at home.

Trampf told hospital workers Heyning was her domestic partner, but she said they refused to allow her to make any decisions without the documents. When Trampf tried to answer questions for Heyning, who was having trouble responding after regaining consciousness, the hospital staff ignored her.

"That's when I realized I really didn't have any rights in the situation," Trampf said in a recent telephone interview. "Heterosexual couples don't have to pull out anything."

Gay rights supporters will see off some of the plaintiffs in Indiana's dispute over same-sex marriage as they make their way to Chicago for legal arguments before a federal appeals court hearing on Tuesday.

The day begins with a rally 9 a.m. Monday at the Indianapolis City Market sponsored by Hoosiers Unite for Marriage. Rallies also are scheduled in Lafayette, Munster and Chicago, where the federal court hearing will be conducted Tuesday.

Hoosiers Unite for Marriage spokeswoman Jennifer Wagner says some of the couples involved in the case will be traveling to Chicago in a caravan.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will be hearing arguments in a combined appeal by Indiana and Wisconsin officials of federal district court rulings that struck down each state's ban on same-sex marriage.

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The Gayly – August 25, 2014 @ 9:30am