Hey Everyone,

Much appreciation to Zoe for writing.  Maybe this will help her and the other kids feel better about the decision to move the location.  For those of us who live at a great distance from the Florida location, bringing our children is not a possibility.  I have four daughters, none of whom has ever been able to accompany me to FEAST because I could never afford the massive airfare costs from Oregon.  So also from a kids perspective, this is an issue of fairness.  The location (as does any location) makes things possible for families who live closer that are not possible for families who live further.  I must also say that kids with adoptive lesbian parents are disadvantaged by the Florida location--and I know that many lesbians have brought their children to Florida.  As an adoptive lesbian parent I would hesitate very much to bring my children to Florida.  If that seems odd, just a reminder (below... I pulled it off a website) about what happened to Janice Langehn and Lisa Pond's children, who happened to be in Florida for a cruise when one of their mothers had a fatal stroke.  I hope that the new site will be child friendly, but it is important to acknowledge that the old site was only friendly for some families and not for others.  So my children, over all the years I've been attending FEAST (since early on, except for this year), have missed out.  They've never been able to come.

Florida Federal Court Dismisses Lawsuit of Lesbian Denied Information About and Visitation with Dying Partner in ER
http://www.blogher.com/florida-federal-court-dismisses-lawsuit-lesbian-denied-information-about-and-visitation-dying-partne

A few days ago, a U.S. District Court for Southern Florida dismissed Janice Langbehn's case against the Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County, Jackson Memorial Hospital and 3 doctors. For those unfamiliar with, or don't remember Janice's story I'll give you quick synopses.

In February 2007, Janice Langbehn, Lisa Pond, and their 3 children traveled to Florida for an R Family Cruise. But before the ship left port, Lisa collapsed and had to be rushed to a hospital. Janice and their children followed, arriving shortly after. The hospital refused to take information about Lisa's medical history from Janice, even after a copy of Power of Attorney had been faxed to the hospital. Janice and the children were not given any information about Lisa, and were denied visitation even after the doctor had indicated that there was no medical reason Lisa could not have visitors. In the mean time, other families, including children, were taken back to visit with patients in the trauma unit. The only visitation Janice was allowed in the ER, was 5 minutes while the priest to delivered last rites. At some point during the ordeal, Janice was told by a social worker that she was in an anti-gay state and city, and she would not be acknowledged as family. Apparently, that went for their adopted children too.

When Lisa was finally moved from the ER to a non-trauma room in the hospital, Janice was not notified. She had to find out from Lisa's sister, who was told by the hospital staff when she arrived. It was more than hour after Lisa had been moved. Yes, Lisa's sister had more rights than her partner of 18 years did. Later, Dade County Examiner and the State of Florida both denied Janice a death certificate, which she needed for life insurance and social security benefits for the children.

The court ruling, says the trauma unit does not have and obligation to allow the patient's family, health care surrogate, or other visitors, access to the patient. And since she was allowed in for the 5 minutes of last rites, that's good enough (my words). The ruling found that since she was briefly consulted twice, the Power of Attorney had not been denied or ignored. The ruling also stated that there was not enough evidence to show a fiduciary relationship. This has some bearing as to why it's justifiable under the law to keep loved ones apart, but I don't understand why. Since I am not a lawyer, and all of this legal speak makes eyes glaze over, this is about as much as I got out of reading the ruling. For a more in depth discussion of the ruling and it's implications, check out Leonard Links post Federal Judge Dismisses Tort Claims Against Florida Hospital and Staff Who Failed to Accord Compassionate Treatment to Life Partner of Dying Lesbian.

On Wed, 7 Oct 2009 08:58:54 -0400, Sally Scholz <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Thanks Zoe and Anna!  For what it is worth, my two kids were similarly disappointed.  The Florida location was a nice place to bring families. We are trying to keep an open mind and hoping that the Illinois location will also be a nice place for kids too.  
> 
> I was particularly delighted to see Zoe's letter-- I admire her courage and pluck in writing.  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Feminist ethics and social theory [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of FEAST-L automatic digest system
> Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 12:04 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: FEAST-L Digest - 5 Oct 2009 to 6 Oct 2009 (#2009-147)
> 
> There is 1 message totalling 53 lines in this issue.
> 
> Topics of the day:
> 
>   1. change of location for next FEAST
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Date:    Tue, 6 Oct 2009 14:22:15 -0400
> From:    Anna Stubblefield <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: change of location for next FEAST
> 
> I want to thank all of the organizers for a wonderful FEAST a couple  
> of weeks ago! I enjoy this conference so much!
> 
> My daughter, who accompanied me to FEAST this year and in 2007 is  
> very, very sad that the conference will not be in Florida again next  
> time. I tried to explain to her the political reasons behind the  
> decision to try a new location, as you will see from her message  
> below, although she does not yet grasp the implication of harm being  
> done that is not directly to an individual (we'll work on that). I  
> confess being very torn myself between loving the Florida location, in  
> part but not totally because it is a great place to bring my daughter,  
> and agreeing with the political concerns about where our money is going.
> 
> Anyway, Zoë wanted to express her protest to the organization about  
> the change in location, and I certainly did not want to quash her urge  
> to do so, so I promised to pass on her message. Here it is:
> 
> Dear Feast,
> 
> I'd like to make a suggestion on account of the location of Feast. As  
> a ten year old girl, I'm sure you don't take me seriously. And I'm  
> sure you think I only want you to stay in Florida because I think it's  
> fun there. I can tell you it's fun for everyone involved in the  
> program and you are making a huge mistake. Florida may have homo  
> sexual issues and a bad environment, but they haven't done anything  
> wrong to the speakers or anyone involved, have they? I'm sure no one  
> there has given you a hassle about anything. Why move to a cold, 3  
> star place when you can live in peace at a 5 star hotel, with a beach,  
> and a pool, and great places to visit?? If things have gone wrong,  
> notify me and I'll take back the comment. Just a suggestion. Thank you  
> for listening.
> 
>                       Sincerely Yours,
>                           Zoë Stubblefield
>                          (Daughter of Anna
>                          Stubblefield, Speaker
>                               at Feast of 2009)
> 
> 
> ***********************************
> Anna Stubblefield
> Chair, Department of Philosophy
> Rutgers University-Newark
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> End of FEAST-L Digest - 5 Oct 2009 to 6 Oct 2009 (#2009-147)
> ************************************************************