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from the but-what-dreams-may-come-when-I-have-shuffled-off-this-mortal-coil? dept.
Ezekiel J. Emanuel, director of the Clinical Bioethics Department at the US National Institutes of Health, writes at The Atlantic that there is a simple truth that many of us seem to resist: living too long renders many of us, if not disabled, then faltering and declining, a state that may not be worse than death but is nonetheless deprived. "It robs us of our creativity and ability to contribute to work, society, the world. It transforms how people experience us, relate to us, and, most important, remember us. We are no longer remembered as vibrant and engaged but as feeble, ineffectual, even pathetic." Emanuel says that he is isn't asking for more time than is likely nor foreshortening his life but is talking about the kind and amount of health care he will consent to after 75. "Once I have lived to 75, my approach to my health care will completely change. I won’t actively end my life. But I won’t try to prolong it, either." Emanuel says that Americans seem to be obsessed with exercising, doing mental puzzles, consuming various juice and protein concoctions, sticking to strict diets, and popping vitamins and supplements, all in a valiant effort to cheat death and prolong life as long as possible. "I reject this aspiration. I think this manic desperation to endlessly extend life is misguided and potentially destructive. For many reasons, 75 is a pretty good age to aim to stop."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 23 2014, @05:04PM
Not so much to disagree, as to point out that you've mis-stated TFA's argument. Your paraphrasing replaces every instance of "contribute to society" with "contribute economically," thus turning what was an argument about one's participation in society into a discussion of their financial value. Having created in your own head this 'economic contribution' argument, you proceed to demolish it by claiming that there are great ways to contribute to society without economic impact. Good for you, you beat up the strawman!
You must be a very angry, defensive person to get that from TFA. He states some facts: older people are less healthy; older people have more mobility problems; older people perform less well on cognitive tests. He says that the age discrepancy has gotten worse as lifespans have increased. He admits that many people are, in fact, quite happy to have more years, even if they are lower quality years. Good for them: let them all live to 110.
What's your problem with a guy wanting to refuse medical care after age 75? Would you be satisfied to require all of us to undergo annual physicals, or would you also demand that we have a battery of cancer and chronic illness screenings? Chemotherapy? Liver transplants? What gives you the right to force medical care on people who don't want it? So, fuck you "GreatAuntAnesthesia," fuck you, your Christian agenda, your ridiculous nick, and your terrible reading comprehension.
(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Tuesday September 23 2014, @05:18PM
> your Christian agenda
Ha ha ha, you couldn't be more wrong if you tried.