How Long Do You Want to Live?

[ABSTRACT]

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel has kick-started a discussion about how long we should live, and how to prevent medical interventions that extend life without quality. In a provocative article in the October edition of The Atlantic, Dr. Emanuel declares that he doesn’t want to live beyond the age of 75. He bases his decision on his observation that while medical advances have extended length of life, they have also increased the amount of time the elderly live in a state of debility.

People would be wrong to assume that Dr. Emanuel is suggesting that we all call it quits at age 75. What he is suggesting is that people should be mindful of the downside to aggressive medical treatment and be an active participant in decision making based on their personal values. His article lays out the process he engaged in to identify how long he wants to live.

DEFINING OF A LIFE WORTH LIVING

Dr. Emanuel sets a very high bar in his personal assessment of what makes a life worth living. He notes that the average age at which scientists make a discovery that leads to a Nobel Prize is 48. Making creative and original contributions is very important to him, and he notes that most people fail to do so by age 75.

He uses his own father as a cautionary tale. Once an active physician, his father is now is content to swim, read the paper and enjoy his wife, children and grandchildren. Emanuel thinks such a life would not be meaningful for him, and would leave a lasting image of dependency that he does not want. He is not willing to accept the possibility of a few more good years if those years will be followed by many more years of mounting disability and reliance on others.

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