>I'm trying to understand why the Democrats are so insistent in this case, and why Barney Frank is the House leader on this issue. I'm surmising that the slippery slope, as the Democrats see it, leads to AIDS patients.<
You could also argue that the precedent in this case could lead to the court pulling the plug on AIDs patients to cut costs, as with the elderly.
You'd think the AIDs lobby would be freaking out.
However, it would only come into effect when their is a dispute that winds up in court, not in all cases summarily.
In many cases, people choose their course without any contest from other family members. The courts would not get involved in those cases. It is only when a related party tries to overrule the spouse and takes it to court that the full range of judical review comes into play.
-PJ