I think it enjoys such broad public support because it doesn't just apply to us, but to all patients. It clearly says that "patients" will have the right to designate visitors, whether those visitors are blood relatives or not--and believe me, straight people in long-term unmarried relationships can have the same problems we have (being kept away from their partners in the hospital) if the partners' families object. I've known some straight people who were pretty badly traumatized by that.
What the long-term ramifications of this legal action will be for our community, I don't know. I do think it establishes a legal precedent both for patients' rights and for all patients being equal. Here's hoping it sets a precedent for all people being equal in other legal ways as well!
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