Daniel Callahan Op-Ed in New York Times

Daniel Callahan, co-founder and President Emeritus of the Hastings Center wrote an op-ed, On Dying After Your Time, published in the New York Times on December 1, 2013.  In the op-ed, Mr. Callahan reviews the efforts to extend life as part of what he references as “anti-aging research”. Then Mr. Callahan poses some thoughts on what I call “the can and should discussion:”

[e]ven if anti-aging research could give us radically longer lives someday, though, should we even be seeking them? Regardless of what science makes possible, or what individual people want, aging is a public issue with social consequences, and these must be thought through.

Mr. Callahan uses himself to discuss medical care, its costs and makes mention of the impact on Medicare.  He then asks “Can we possibly afford to live even longer — much less radically longer? ”      

This rise in chronic illness should also give us pause about the idea, common to proponents of radical life extension, that we can slow aging in a way that leaves us in perfectly good health. As Dr. Olshansky has tartly observed, “The evolutionary theory of senescence can be stated as follows: while bodies are not designed to fail, neither are they designed for extended operation.” Nature itself seems to be resisting our efforts….

Mr. Callahan goes on to examine the impact on the work force and any social benefits from extending life. He notes “I am flattered, at my age, by the commonplace that the years bring us wisdom — but I have not noticed much of it in myself or my peers. If we weren’t especially wise earlier in life, we are not likely to be that way later.” He concludes that just because we can, doesn’t mean we should: “We are not, however, obliged to help the old become indefinitely older. Indeed, our duty may be just the reverse: to let death have its day.”  

The points he raises in this op-ed are something we should be discussing with our students. The Hastings Center story about the op-ed is available here.