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Angelena Labella, MD and Devika Singh, MD, MPH

Angelena Labella is with the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle. Devika Singh is with the Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Angelena Labella, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific St, Box 356421, Seattle, WA 98195-6421 (e-mail: alabella{at}u.washington.edu).

Same-sex partnerships encounter tremendous challenges in the context of healthcare, including empowerment to act on behalf of loved ones. We share challenges faced by two women who confronted this issue head-on when their same-sex partners were critically, and, in one case, fatally, injured.

In both cases, hospitals initially refused to recognize these women as next of kin; one woman endured years of legal battles in her struggle to win the right to care for her partner. The other testified about her heartrending experience before the Washington State Judiciary Committee, helping to inspire legislation regarding rights for visitation and end-of-life decisions on behalf of same-sex partners.

We seek to remind health care providers of the limitations of current laws and to inspire them to support change.