The Hospital Discrimination Project is looking for stories about same-sex couples being denied visitation or medical decision-making

When Curt Sills lay dying from cancer in an Illinois hospital room, the staff wouldn't let Curt's same-sex partner stay next to his bedside overnight - a privilege commonly extended to straight spouses. The hospital staff wouldn't even call Randy Walden to let him know when Curt was taking a turn for the worse. As a result, Randy nearly missed saying goodbye to his life partner of nine years as Curt took his final breaths.

If you or anyone you know has ever experienced such cruel treatment at a hospital, please tell us. The only way to end this discrimination is for same-sex couples to speak up about how they have been wronged. Please help the ACLU of Illinois, Equality Illinois, Lambda Legal, and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago show Illinois legislators and judges that a serious problem exists.

Tell us about any story in which an unmarried couple - gay or straight -- was denied hospital visitation or medical decision-making. Fill out a short survey found at our website http://www.aclu-il.org by clicking on the purple "Hospital Visitation Survey" icon. If you prefer to use postal mail, the survey is also available as a download in Word format at http://www.aclu-il.org/getequal/hospitalsurvey.doc. You can mail your completed survey or a letter describing the event to: Hospital Discrimination Project, ACLU of Illinois, 180 N. Michigan, Suite 2300, Chicago, IL 60601.