The
domestic
partner
of
someone
incapacitated
due
to
a
medical
condition
now
has
the
same
legal
authority
as
a
married
spouse
to
make
medical
decisions
for
that
partner
under
a
D.C.
law
that
took
effect
June
21.
The
new
law,
the
Health-Care
Decisions
Act
of
2003,
is
“a
modest
but
potentially
useful
step
toward
extending
full
civil
equality
to
same-sex
relationships,”
officials
at
the
D.C.
Gay
&
Lesbian
Activists
Alliance
said
in
a
statement.
Gay
activists
hailed
the
measure
as
an
important
addition
to
the
city’s
domestic
partners
law,
which
became
operative
last
year
after
Congress
lifted
a
10-year
hold
on
that
legislation.
The
domestic
partners
law,
known
officially
as
the
D.C.
Health
Care
Benefits
Expansion
Act,
allows
same-sex
and
opposite-sex
domestic
partners
to
register
their
relationships
with
the
city.
It
also
allows
partners
of
D.C.
government
employees
to
receive
health
insurance
benefits,
and
requires
hospitals
and
other
health
care
institutions,
such
as
nursing
homes,
to
offer
visitation
rights
to
domestic
partners.
The
Health-Care
Decisions
Act
requires
hospitals,
other
health
care
institutions
and
health
care
providers
to
follow
the
wishes
of
the
domestic
partner
or
a
“close
friend”
of
an
incapacitated
person
in
approving
or
disapproving
medical
treatment.
The
law
becomes
operational
only
if
the
incapacitated
person
did
not
assign
his
or
her
care
to
someone
else
under
a
legal
document
known
as
a
durable
power
of
attorney.
It
defines
a
close
friend
as
“any
adult
who
has
exhibited
significant
care
and
concern
for
the
patient,
and
has
maintained
regular
contact
with
the
patient
so
as
to
be
familiar
with
his
or
her
activities,
health,
and
religious
and
moral
beliefs.”
A
domestic
partner
is
defined
as
“any
adult
who
has
registered
as
a
domestic
partner”
under
the
city’s
domestic
partners
law.
The
domestic
partners
law
allows
partners
to
register
their
relationships
during
business
hours
at
D.C.
Office
of
Vital
Records,
located
at
825
North
Capitol
Street,
NE.
The
Health
Care
Decisions
Act
also
recognizes
for
legal
purposes
“any
adult
who
has
registered
as
a
domestic
partner
in
a
substantially
equivalent
program”
operated
by
another
state
or
jurisdiction.
Gay
activists
persuaded
the
D.C.
Council
to
add
this
provision
to
the
bill
to
accommodate
the
large
numbers
of
out
of
town
visitors
and
tourists
who
flock
to
D.C.
each
year.
In
addition,
the
law
recognizes
D.C.
residents
who
may
not
have
registered
as
domestic
partners
but
who
are
“living
with,
but
not
married
to,
another
adult
person
in
a
committed,
intimate
relationship.”
Congress
took
no
action
The
D.C.
Council
passed
the
Health
Care
Decisions
Act
earlier
this
year,
and
Mayor
Anthony
Williams
signed
the
measure,
sending
it
to
Congress
for
a
required
30-day
review
period.
No
members
of
Congress
took
steps
to
block
the
legislation,
allowing
it
to
become
law
on
June
21.
D.C.
Council
member
Kathy
Patterson
(D-Ward
3),
the
chief
author
of
the
legislation,
said
members
of
the
medical
staff
at
George
Washington
University
Hospital
alerted
her
and
her
Council
colleagues
to
the
need
for
the
new
law.
G.W.
hospital
officials
pointed
to
a
case
where
the
unmarried
partner
of
a
patient
who
was
in
a
coma
had
no
legal
authority
to
make
any
medical
decisions
on
the
partner’s
behalf.
Hospital
officials
noted
that
all
medical
decisions
were
placed
in
the
hands
of
distant
relatives,
even
though
the
partner
and
the
patient
had
been
a
couple
for
many
years.
All
12
of
Patterson’s
Council
colleagues
signed
on
as
co-introducers
or
co-sponsors
of
the
legislation,
including
gay
Council
members
David
Catania
(R-At-Large)
and
Jim
Graham
(D-Ward
1).
“In
an
ideal
world,
committed
same-sex
partners
could
be
legally
married,
or
at
least
would
be
executing
durable
power
of
attorney
documents
for
each
other,”
said
Craig
Howell,
a
former
GLAA
president
who
testified
in
favor
of
the
legislation
before
the
D.C.
Council.
“But
since
no
state
yet
recognizes
same-sex
marriages,
and
since
not
all
domestic
partners
are
sophisticated
enough
to
execute
power
of
attorney
documents,
this
reform
should
prove
meaningful
and
productive.”
MORE
INFO
Gay
&
Lesbian
Activists
Alliance
of
Washington,
DC
P.O.
Box
75265
Washington,
DC
20013
202-667-5139
www.glaa.org
DC
Office
of
Vital
Records
825
North
Capitol
Street
NE
1st
Floor,
Room
1312
Washington,
DC
20002
202-442-9009
http://doh.dc.gov
