Do we live too long?

From the Community…

• 
  Posted by Ahleah G Wed Jul 1, 2009 8:24am PDT

  I certainly think that there are people who live to be 100 and have a good quality of life. I know that I hope I can live to be at least in my 80s or 90s and I try to take good care of myself. But I do also agree that medicine is a bit too focused on prolonging life at the expense of quality of life. We should have the option of dying with dignity instead of being forced to hang on by a thread if we so desire. Medicine has greatly increased our life expectancy by curing or at least mitigating things that would have killed us in the past. But I am not sure if this is all for the best. And it is certainly not cost effective. While I do not think it is more expensive to live to be old and healthy that to die younger and have a lot of health problems, it is certainly more expensive to pay for life support and last ditch efforts than to allow someone to die with dignity.

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by Jett Wed Jul 1, 2009 9:10am PDT

  Wow, you're certainly touching on a controversial topic. I think it's difficult to choose one side over the other, though, because there are many factors to consider. I agree that people might live too long, and I've had many of the same thoughts as you, especially when it comes to artificially extending life, like in the case of Terri Schiavo — her parents wanted to keep her on life support, even though she would never recover, and her husband wanted to move on and find closure, not always hoping and wondering whether or not she would recover. I can understand that mentality. I don't want to be kept alive artificially if there's no hope that I'll recover, and thankfully the law is on my side in that case, assuming I have a living will and there is no question as to my wishes.

  However, elective euthanasia is a completely different idea. What if someone is dying from cancer and refuses medication, but he's still living. That's not medication keeping him alive; it's his body and/or his soul. In that case I believe God wants that person to stay alive. We have no right to help that person kill himself just because he's in pain. It's sad, yes, but it's not the fault of scientific advances. What about people with fibromyalgia. They're in constant pain. Should we kill them? Even if they're only 25 or 30 and not even close to dying? Pain should not be an indicator of a "dead man walking."

  Brett said: "Medicine has successfully removed people's ability to die with dignity. Instead, medicine forces people to live like vegetables, sometimes not having any idea of what is going on around them." I won't dispute this, but I will add that medicine also helps sick children live past puberty; it heightens the chances that children will not die from pneumonia at the age of 5 or become paralyzed from polio at the age of 9. It helps heal deformities and replace limbs lost in battle or purely by accident.

  Maybe medicine does prolong life abnormally, but it also gives the weak a fighting chance.

  My friend is a Christian Scientist and does not believe in taking medicine if unnecessary. Instead she believes that prayer will save her, and she will pray to God that He remove her affliction. She had two completely natural births, albeit in a hospital. (Her religion does stress that it's each individual's choice as to how extreme s/he chooses to take the "no meds" idea.) She does not take Tylenol for headaches or get a flu shot. I'm not sure what she does about immunizations for her children, but my point is that whether or not she believes that medicine wrongly and selfishly extends life, she is choosing to live how she believes God wants her to. If she dies, she dies, like you said, Brett.

  I believe that God gave us the knowledge and the opportunity to help ourselves. I feel it's selfish to take up His time praying for Him to get rid of my headache. If I can get rid of it myself, I believe I'm helping myself. I think there's a balance to this discussion: We should help ourselves and help each other to live the best lives we can for as long as we're here, but life is more about how long we're on Earth. John Keats (the writer) died at the age of 25, but look at all he accomplished. He held company with Mary Shelley who wrote "Frankenstein" and her husband Percy Shelley, also a brilliant writer. His name is still well-known nearly 200 years after he lived. It's not about how long we're here; it's about what we accomplish while we ARE here, and that is how I try to live my life. Sure if I live longer, I can accomplish more, but that's no kind of way to exist, expecting that I'll always have more time. Medicine will not help me from nuclear fallout; it won't help me from a meteor. Medicine is not a save-all; but it is a help, so I can't fault it. Besides, long before modern, Western medicine, there were herbs. God gave us these tools to use. Let's use them well.

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by Brett Blumenthal - Sheer Balance Wed Jul 1, 2009 10:13am PDT

  Jett: I agree that medicine is wonderful in a lot of ways. I agree with all of your points. That said, there is a difference between keeping people alive who have potential of living a meaningful and full life that they enjoy; and keeping people alive because we can, even if they don't have much knowledge that they are even living. That is where I think medicine fails us.

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by Eddieslilangel Wed Jul 1, 2009 11:27am PDT

  its great when you can live that long. it truly is a blessing from God. but when my grampa died and i was depressed, i had to think of something small just so i could see he was out of his suffering. so i thought, if no one died, there would be no more room on this earth for people to live.

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by Jett Wed Jul 1, 2009 1:54pm PDT

  Brett: Well, no, I don't believe we should just keep "people alive because we can." That's why I don't believe in keeping people on life support once they're past being able to recover. At that point it's no longer about the victim; it's about the family not being able to let go and find closure.

  And no, medicine can't fix everything. I don't know what the answer is for people with, say, Alzheimer's, but I don't think the answer it to just "put them out of their misery."

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by Jett Wed Jul 1, 2009 1:56pm PDT

  Eddieslilangel: That's really nice. I've heard that type of thinking before, like when one person dies another is born. I wonder if it's true. :)

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by Brett Blumenthal - Sheer Balance Wed Jul 1, 2009 3:27pm PDT

  Jett and Eddieslilangel. I think that is sort of true and a really beautiful belief. Except for the fact that the population continues to grow exponentially. I am not sure how that would be explained...

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by Lizbeth Wed Jul 1, 2009 3:54pm PDT

  A simple yet sort of daring question.

  I want to live a long and full life, if possible, but I'd rather not think too much on making demands about how long my life will be.

  I think that our fear of aging and death in this country makes us consumers of life and youth, and therin lies the problem. We have the technology to keep people young and/or alive, but what are the consequences of messing around with nature?

  My grandfather was kept alive on various machines and his death was dragged out for months. It was painful and tiresome for all involved, but his intense fear and resentment of death combined with modern technology, meant that he would keep breathing. During a certain point in his failing health, I became angry with him for refusing to just let go. He was in his 80's, had lived a full life and had recieved emmaculate care from my mother for the last 9 years of his life.

  Once again, though, it comes down to the fact that we have no control over this except the choices we make for ourselves.

  I agree that the planet is overpopulated and maybe, instead of focusing on length of life, we could focus on how many lives we're creating. For our part, my husband and I won't be breeding. I think more people (coupled or not) should consider adoption, not having children or refusing to be fertilized if they are unable to have children. (Look where Jon and Kate are now; how sad and yet how preventable-their bodies told them no from the begining. Why didn't they listen?)

  We could be making more of an effort to care for the people who are already here and simply stop making new people.

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by SardoNumspar Thu Jul 2, 2009 5:45am PDT

  Jett- I will tell you what, and this is just my personal preference, if I become afflicted with Alzheimer's and I no longer know who I am, I don't recognize my own husband and children, and I live in fear because of this constant confusion, well then I just hope that those around me are merciful enough to "put me out of my misery." I don't believe it is any way to live and I want no parts of it. Unless by the time I get old enough to be affected by the didease, there is a cure for it, of course.

  I am not attacking how you feel about it, but I have a family history of the disease and at 28 years old, I forget a lot of things already. I am at times, downright terrified of what awaits me in the future.

  Report Abuse
• 
  Posted by Beth Thu Jul 2, 2009 6:07am PDT

  Quality over quantity any day for me. My grandmother recently passed at 99 years of age. She was more fortunate than others in that machines weren't keeping her alive in the end, just an endless array of multi-colored pills no one could keep straight. She spent the last two years of her life in a nursing home and I thanked God every day that the elderly often lose their sense of smell because that place STANK. She always tried to find the positive in any situation but I could tell she was ready to go, not because of ill health or mental issues, but because she just didn't see the point of living any longer. And who can blame her? Home was now a 10 x 10 foot half a room she shared with a woman who could only gurgle. She couldn't walk. She was put to bed at 7 pm. Dinner was some variation of cream colored mush. People visited but no one stayed. What was there to look forward to?

  Do you realize that most elderly people are on some form of anti-depressant? Well, of course they're depressed! What kind of life is that?

  I love that my grandmother's blood pressure, heart and anti-inflammatory medications gave me more time but it was to my benefit, not hers. If I had it to do over again I think I would have insisted we leave her in her home and let nature take it's course.

  Report Abuse