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Visitation rights: Lacey resident wants equality in hospitals after death of her partner
Publication Source & URL:
The Olympian
5/3/2009
"It's been more than two years since Lacey resident Lisa Pond died of a brain aneurysm in a Florida hospital, but her life partner, Janice Langbehn, cannot let go of the circumstances surrounding that day.
"Langbehn and Pond, who had been a couple for 18 years, were with three of their four children in Miami, getting ready for a cruise when Pond suddenly collapsed.
"...Langbehn's story and cause have been taken up by gay rights advocacy groups. She and her three children also have enlisted Lambda Legal, which advocates for gay rights, to file a federal lawsuit against the hospital.
"...'There is no monetary value attached to the suit', said Lambda Legal attorney Beth Littrell, but if Langbehn wins the case, it could force hospitals to recognize same-sex couples as family."