Social Security

Interesting article from the Wall Street Journal that addresses the disparity in the law state by state for Social Security Survivor Benefits -

By ASHBY JONES:
Advances in reproductive technology that were the stuff of science fiction just a few decades ago are wreaking havoc on a corner of the Social Security system—survivor benefits for some children whose parents have died.

Every year, more babies are born stemming from sperm or embryos that have been stored for months or years. In some cases, one parent has already died, usually the father.

Lesbian couples are more likely to be poor than married heterosexuals, and children of same-sex parents are twice as likely to live in poverty as those of traditional married couples, a new report shows.

UCLA's Williams Institute, which studies gay issues, says its report out today is the first to analyze poverty among gay and lesbian couples.

Washington's newly passed Domestic Partnership law went into effect July 23, 2007, and couples lined up by the dozens to register their relationships.

The registry offers some legal standing for same-sex and straight couples.

CONTINUED FROM A PREVIOUS STORY

A landmark gay rights bill passed by Colombia's Congress last week was thrown out when a group of senators used a procedural vote to change their minds.

The bill, backed by President Alvaro Uribe but opposed by the Roman Catholic Church, would grant gay couples living together for more than two years the same social security and estate inheritance guarantees as heterosexuals in common-law marriages.

It would have been the first nationwide law of its kind in Latin America.

A few months ago, a Washington state family with two moms was living a great life.

But after nearly 18 years together, one was stricken with a brain aneurysm and died. The family says the way they were treated by a Miami hospital compounded their shock and grief.