The state of Indiana has agreed to
recognize the marriage of a terminally ill lesbian.
According to NWTimes.com, a federal
judge on Thursday approved an agreement for the state to recognize
the Illinois marriage of Veronica Romero and Mayra Yvette Rivera.
The couple, together 27 years with two
children, married on March 7. Rivera, who is undergoing chemotherapy
treatment for ovarian cancer, entered hospice care in late July.
Indiana has agreed to recognize the
women's marriage and, in the event of Rivera's death, issue a death
certificate which lists Romero as her surviving spouse.
Indiana officials this week asked the
Supreme Court to review an appeals court's ruling declaring Indian's
ban invalid.
(Related: Wisconsin,
Indiana ask Supreme Court to overturn rulings axing gay marriage
bans.)
This is the second marriage the state
has been forced to recognize. A federal appeals court ordered the
state to recognize
the marriage of Amy Sandler and Niki Quasney, who is terminally
ill.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller said in a
statement that the cases mirror each other.
“Our 7th Circuit Court of
Appeals has previously made an exception to Indiana's existing
statute and recognized a plaintiff's out-of-state marriage under
similar, difficult circumstance,” Zoeller
said. “In this new case, the stipulation both sides filed
mirrors the 7th Circuit's earlier approach.”