State representative Ashley Aune is trying to fight it, but doesn’t have high hopes.
Something you might have picked up on over the last several weeks/years/centuries is that there are a disturbing number of people in power who will go to great lengths to control women in America. Not convinced? Thinking of citing the fact that in some countries, women are stoned to death (as though that makes what happens here okay)? Then we’d like to make you aware of a law in Missouri that says pregnant women cannot get a divorce finalized if they’re pregnant—even if said pregnant people are victims of domestic violence.
That’d be fine, too. I’m just saying it’s a bit of a dumb law to go after because being married an extra 9 months or less doesn’t really limit much of anything besides being able to marry someone else. It’s close to a non issue. Some people never even mess with doing the paperwork and just stay separated for years on end.
Being married gives you the ability to make medical decisions among other issues.
Only if you can’t make them yourself (like you’re in a coma) and you have the ability to give anyone else you want a medical, financial, or both power of attorney for those decisions. The default is your spouse only if you don’t have a POA set up. It can be done with a signature and a notary. You can print out the documents for free and have it all done in 15 minutes. Your bank will notarize things for you for free. Otherwise it may cost you like $10.
So, when you’re in your coma, how do you tell the hospital that your POA exists?
You can let your medical insurance put it on file and so long as the hospital has your name, it will be known and they would contact your mom or sibling or whoever you made your POA. A hospital will see that information long before figuring out who your spouse you separated from is.