Northwestern University may be honoring benefits granted by civil unions in Illinois but, in some cases, only same-sex couples reap the rewards.
Professor Bob Fourer told the Chicago Tribune he wants to put his civil-union partner, Sandra Maria Benedet, on his PPO insurance plan but that the school declined his application because the two are not married.
Only same-sex civil-union spouses and married couples are eligible for the PPO plan. The HMO plan is available to all partners. Because Fourer and Benedet are not a same-sex couple and can marry, the two do not qualify for the PPO plan.
Northwestern is in compliance with the civil-union law, said university spokesperson Alan Cubbage, adding that the distinction based on gender was not an oversight.
Cubbage said the HMO plan extends benefits to all civil-union partners, regardless of gender.
"We didn't really know what the demand was going to be for that," Cubbage said. "The university will take a look and see what our demand is, and we'll look at it then."
Fourer, who told the Tribune that he and Benedet got a civil union in part because they support gay rights, declined to be interviewed by Windy City Times.
"We're confident that others will stand up on this issue and broaden it beyond our particular circumstances," Fourer said in an email response.
Christopher Clark, an attorney with Lambda Legal, said the real issue is not necessary about the law itself but rather about the spirit of it.
"It seems to me that the better policy would just be to provide the same benefits," Clark said. "The truth of the matter is that there probably are not that many opposite-sex couples entering into civil unions and seeking benefits."
Clark said that due to low volume, he expects the cost of implementing such benefits would be minimal.