Fair Wisconsin recently unveiled a television ad claiming medical rights will be threatened if the proposed civil unions ban passes in the Nov. 7 election, drawing heated debate as to just how far the effects of the amendment will reach.
In the emotional advertisement, a lesbian named Lynn described the obstacles she faced when her partner was diagnosed with cancer. According to Lynn, it was ""unclear"" if she would be able to make critical medical decisions and ensure long-term financial stability for their adopted daughter. The advertisement claims the proposal ""could"" deny medical decisions and hospital visits to domestic partnerships.
""Things like hospital visits and medical decisions fall under a wide category of things that would be threatened by this amendment,"" said Rachel Strauch-Nelson, spokesperson for Fair Wisconsin, the lead opposition group to the ban. According to Strauch-Nelson, non-married heterosexual couple's rights are equally threatened.
Amendment supporters say the only issue that should be at hand is gay marriage. The law, according to Mike Prentiss, a spokesperson for state Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, does not make same-sex health decisions illegal.
""Allegations from Fair Wisconsin that the constitutional amendment would outlaw domestic partnerships [are] 100 percent false,"" Prentiss said.
However UW-Madison professor of family medicine Byron Crouse said there is merit in the information the advertisement presents.
""Traditionally, a legal family member makes the medical decision, and that's one of the issues here,"" he said. ""What is the status of a same-sex partner?""
Advocates of the ban insist that medical decisions will not be affected by the proposal.
""There is nothing explicitly prohibited in the proposed constitutional amendment,"" Prentiss said.
The second sentence of the amendment, prohibiting ""anything substantially similar to marriage,"" is where Fair Wisconsin draws the inspiration for the argument of the advertisement.
""This amendment would provide a legal basis to challenge a whole litany of legal protections for unmarried couples,"" Strauch-Nelson said.
If an unmarried person acknowledges their partnership in a living will and gives their partner power of attorney, legally the amendment should not infringe on this authority. However, Crouse said that many people might not anticipate ""catastrophic events,"" like a sudden chronic disease diagnosis.
According to Prentiss, the ban will not prohibit future laws granting certain rights to same-sex partners.
""There is nothing in the proposed constitutional amendment that would prohibit a future legislature from introducing and passing legislation to grant some of the rights and privileges that are currently granted to married couples,"" he said.
