Q: Are hospitals legally allowed to deny visitors with a birth of a child?
I thought there was a 2010 federal law passed saying patients have a civil right to choose who can visit. My wife was told that the birth of our first child in August will now be where instead of her mom and sisters plus myself be allowed, they will only allow 1 person and then mentioned I might not even be allowed and it would be my wife by herself. That sounds like a violation of a human right to be present for the birth of a child, especially if it is our first child, or her mom's first grandchild.
A: Yes the hospitals are allowed to impose reasonable restrictions during this public health emergency. I haven't heard of any hospital denying all visitors, but I do believe most are restricting it to one visitor and requiring the visitor to pass some medical protocol to enter the hospital. If you are the one in the delivery room with your wife, you should ask the hospital in advance about its policy for leaving, too. Hospitals may require you to remain in the hospital the entire time and deny re-entry if you leave.
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