A St. Louis law firm is setting up free medical power of attorneys to LGBTQ couples amid concerns that the U.S. Supreme Court could take steps to overturn same-sex marriage.
Marler Law Partners will hold the event at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at St. Paul United Church of Christ to notarize and witness the forms. The legal document allows a person to make health-care decisions for another person who isn’t able to make their own. Marler Law Partners founder Sara Marler said it is a stop-gap measure to help a person decide who will take care of them if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns same-sex marriage.
“This way we can kind of redo the documents, or help you update your documents or just make sure you have them in place,” she said.
Marler said while the firm won’t be offering legal representation, lawyers will be there to hear concerns from LGBTQ community members and answer questions. Wednesday’s event follows an LGBTQ legal summit that the law firm held in November for people concerned that their rights could be stripped away. Marler said about 100 people showed up, and lawyers answered constitutional, employment and family law and estate planning questions.
The U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide 10 years ago in a 5-4 decision via Obergefell v. Hodges. But many LGBTQ activists and lawmakers are concerned that the ruling could be overturned after the court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that women don’t have a constitutional right to an abortion, leaving states to pass their own legislation or constitutional amendments.
Many saw the ruling as a precursor of what could happen if someone challenges the Obergefell ruling. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas indicated in his Dobbs ruling that the court may revisit Obergefell if a case is brought to them.
“In Missouri, we don't have a trigger law in place,” PROMO Missouri Communications Director Robert Fischer said. “But because marriage is defined in the Missouri Constitution as between one man and one woman, immediately, as soon as Obergefell falls, we will no longer have same-sex marriage equality within Missouri.”
Former Missouri State Rep. Chris Sander introduced legislation in 2022 and 2023 that would change marriage from between a man and a woman to two individuals. There was never a hearing on the bill and Jackson County Republicans tried but failed to censure the lawmaker for the proposal.
Marler said many people who came to the November event shared concerns that if same-sex marriage is overturned, they wouldn’t have someone to make tough medical decisions for them.
“There were folks there who were going back to what it was like in the ’80s and ’90s, where it was like, ‘Am I going to be able to be in the hospital with my partner if something goes wrong, or if they're ill or dying, or are family members going to be able to block me?’” Marler said.
In 2022, former President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified same-sex and interracial marriage. But the bill has limitations. It ensures that state and federal governments recognize same-sex and interracial marriages across state lines, but it doesn’t force states to pass laws legalizing those marriages if the decision is overturned by the Supreme Court.
The bill does require that states recognize past certified marriages. Marler said she believes this means existing same-sex marriages should be protected. Fischer believes if Obergefell is challenged and ruled unconstitutional, Missourians may face a similar battle that many abortion rights advocates have fought. Many who needed the procedure traveled to neighboring states like Illinois. Last year, Missourians approved Amendment 3 to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
Fischer said he doesn’t know if passing a statewide petition would work at this point.
“That's an incredible amount of resources of people, of money, but also emotions,” Fischer said. “An initiative petition is supposed to give people hope. It's supposed to give people power. But if it actually doesn't, it can devastate a community in them realizing that, ‘Oh, this state doesn't believe that I should be able to marry.’”
Fischer said recent actions by the Trump Administration to roll back transgender protections have led to grassroots organizing and protests to challenge the administration. Marler said the Wednesday meeting is just one step to help organize and inform couples.
“It's so easy right now to just feel frozen, and the only thing I know to combat that is to take some kind of action, no matter how small it is,” Marler said. “This action feels like it is something that will help people feel just a little bit of security in the sense that they have some say in who's making decisions for them regarding their health care and who's going to be making decisions for them when they can't.”
