Judges, Afraid of Being "Schiavoed," Rule against Providers

Ken Goodman at the University of Miami posted a brief piece on End-of-Life Ethics: Family Members, Conflict, and Politic to Medscape a few weeks ago.  The following part caught my eye:

We see in many jurisdictions family members insisting on the overtreatment of their loved ones . . . .  In some cases . . . [they] involve litigation . . . involve court filings . . . .  There are judges in some jurisdictions who have actually said, "I don't want to be Schiavoed," meaning they are inclined to rule not in favor of a patient's rights or a patient's refusal of treatment, but in favor of the complaining family member.