Why one prominent doctor (Dr. Ezekial Emmanuel) says, "I hope to die at 75"

[Divernan]

128. Big Insurance would heartily agree with this "ethicist" physician!

"Let's just do palliative care after age 75 - think of the huge boost to our already obscene profits!" I've been witness to end of life situations for family members and friends - at a variety of ages from 50's to 90's. This doctor takes a simple fact of life and death, i.e., that at the end of most of our respective life spans there is a period of decline, dementia, etc. and ignores the reality that this period is NOT one-size-fits-all

His proposal of somehow going out "with dignity" and skipping the decline/dementia phase, smacks far too much of psyching society into endorsing some kind of noble euthanasia/suicide. And while I support a right to assisted suicide for people in extreme pain, I am horrified and outraged at an arbitrary announcement of the age of 76, regardless of individual health. Ice floes/Alaska anyone? Monty Python/Holy Grail, "Bring out your dead. . . I'm not dead yet!. . . Shut up! You will be soon."

We'd all obviously prefer to magically die peacefully in our sleep, but this of course is extremely rare. I know of one woman in her 80's who died like this. For the vast majority of us, dying is not so kind. There is a HUGE difference between arbitrarily announcing that after age 76, life is not really worth living, either from the standpoint of the individual, or from society; and recognizing the different and individualized rate of aging. I've left instructions not to take extreme measures in health care when death is imminent. However, given that women in my family, going back at least to my great-grandmother, have lived to their mid-90's, I sure as hell don't want those instructions to kick in when I'm in my mid 70's!

So what if I "contribute less to society" now that I'm in my 70's? That's the whole fucking point of retirement, folks! You work frigging hard for decades, and then get to kick back and coast. I worked extremely hard as a single Mom to raise my 3 kids after Daddy Dearest opted for a life dedicated to golf outings and a series of hotties. I'm no longer able to work 60 hours a week, or even 40, but NOW I have time to serve as Judge of Elections, sit on 2 appointed administrative law boards in my community and serve as treasurer for a civic organization raising money for college scholarships. And I'm here to tell you all, that in my community, it's retired seniors like me that fill the majority of volunteer, civic action spots.