April 12, 13

NEWS / Man with power of attorney over partner refused visitation rights, arrested at Missouri hospital

A Missouri man holding Power of Attorney rights over the healthcare decision of his civil partner was forced out of the hospital and arrested after he refused to leave his partner. The hospital has now released a statement, in which it stressed that the man’s behavior, not his sexual orientation, was the cause of his arrest.

Roger Gorley went to see his partner Allen at Research Medical City in Kansas City on Tuesday, Fox News 4 reports. When he arrived, one of Allen’s relatives asked him to leave, but he refused and entered his partner’s room. The medical staff then told Gorley to leave, but he did not budge, arguing that he and his partner had joint Power of Attorney over each other’s medical decision. Gorley says the nurse did not even try to verify whether the Power of Attorney was in effect.

“She didn’t even bother to go look it up to check into it,” Gorley stated. “He’s been at the psychiatric unit part several times.”

After repeatedly refusing to obey hospital staff, security was called in and began to demand that Gorley leave the premises of the hospital, Gorley’s arrest report says. The standoff continued, with Gorley reportedly causing a disturbance as security officers were trying to get him out of the room. The incident ended with Gorley being dragged away in handcuffs and handed over to the police. Hospital security said they wanted him arrested for trespassing and disorderly conduct.

Gorley alleges that hospital security beat him during the standoff, and also claims that one of the officers refused to touch him based on the allegation that he was HIV positive. No such details have appeared in the police report.

The incident has caused an uproar in the LGBT community, and the hospital has sought to stress that Gorley was arrested because of his disruptive behavior, and not his sexual orientation.

“This was an issue of disruptive and belligerent behavior by the visitor that affected patient care,” Denise Charpentier, VP of Marketing and Public Relations for Medical Research Center, said in a statement. “The hospital’s response followed the same policies that would apply to any individual engaged in this behavior in a patient care setting and was not in any way related to the patient’s or the visitor’s sexual orientation or marital status.”

The hospital has also sought to highlight its progressive stance on the rights of same-sex couples.

“Research Medical Center was one of the first hospitals in Kansas City to offer domestic partner benefits, which have been in place since 2005, and we have had a policy specifically acknowledging domestic partners’ visitation rights in place for years,” Charpentier noted.


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