Lesbian couple asks Indiana to recognize their marriage now due to terminal cancer diagnosis

Niki Quasney (right) and Amy Sandler

A lesbian couple in Indiana is asking the state to legally recognize their marriage performed in Massachussetts immediately as one spouse is terminally ill with cancer.

Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit on behalf of Amy Sandler and Niki Quasney, who live in Munster, Indiana. Quasney has been diagnosed with Stage IV cancer.

From the Advocate:

The women entered into a civil union in Illinois and married in Massachusetts in 2013, but they need their home state to recognize their marriage in order for them to receive numerous protections and benefits, including “the ability to access federal and state safety nets for surviving spouses and their children, and the right to a death certificate that accurately reflects their marriage,” notes a Lambda blog post. “Further, Ms. Quasney and Ms. Sandler frequently travel far from their home to receive medical treatment as a result of their prior experience with the local hospital suggesting it would defer to state law to determine whether a couple is married.”

Indiana law bans same-sex marriage, including recognition of such unions from other states. Unlike in some other states, though, the ban is not written into the state constitution.