NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
April 11, 2005

EQUALITY MARYLAND
Contact: Dan Furmansky, Executive Director
Phone:    Office 301-587-7500
Cell    301-461-4900
Email:  dan@equalitymaryland.org

GENERAL ASSEMBLY SENDS MEDICAL DECISION MAKING ACT TO GOVERNOR

Maryland is Seventh State to Grant Protections to Same Sex Couples

Annapolis - With less than an hour to go before the end of the 2005 legislative session, the Maryland Senate concurred tonight with House amendments to the Medical Decision Making Act, thereby sending the bill to Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. for his signature. Final passage of the legislation occurred only after Democratic leadership achieved a successful cloture vote to end debate. The Medical Decision Making Act will create a statewide registry for unmarried couples and clarify that they are "next of kin" for crucial medical and post-mortem decisions. The bill passed the Senate 31-16 and the House 83-50. Gov. Ehrlich has not yet taken a formal position on the bill.

"Passage of the Medical Decision Making Act means peace of mind for thousands of Maryland families and reassurance that everyone has autonomy over his or her own personal healthcare wishes," said Executive Director Dan Furmansky. "By recognizing that unmarried and same-sex couples share the same concerns and fears that all couples do and by reflecting that in the law, the Maryland General Assembly has taken a huge step forward."

Equality Maryland praised the sponsors, Chairman John Hurson (D-Montgomery County) and Senator Joan Carter Conway (D-Baltimore City), for their leadership, as well as Chairwoman Paula Hollinger (D-Baltimore County), who defended the bill on the floor. Equality Maryland offered a special acknowledgment to Carrie Evans, state legislative lawyer for the Human Rights Campaign. >From the Medical Decision Making Act's inception to its passage, Ms. Evans provided invaluable assistance with bill drafting, technical support, and testimony. Equality Maryland also thanked Whitman Walker Clinic and Chase Brexton Health Services for their organizational help, as well as the many individuals who shared their personal experiences in Annapolis with legislators to ensure that others are spared the unfortunate situations they endured during times of crisis.

"Every hospital patient should be guaranteed the right to be treated with dignity and respect," said Baltimore City resident Jodi Kelber-Kaye, who was physically pushed out of the hospital room of her partner, Stacey, because the nurse failed to understand their significant, committed relationship. Stacey later faced a similar situation when Jodi prematurely gave birth to their son and hospital personnel refused to let Stacey advocate for his care. "Though we'll be first in line to register," Kelber-Kaye added, "we have the deepest hope that we'll never have to use it."