I know that there are people who are going to be livid about what happened here, but it is absolutely true that medical technology can keep almost any of us “living” (by the biological definition of “living”) to 100+ years old now. But, will it be worth it? Never mind, to “society” - but to us?
The problem is “the slippery slope”...I don’t have an solution for this, because the answer is many, many levels above my pay grade...
The desire to live is very powerful for the most part...even under medical issues which create havoc for individuals....it breaks through the discomfort and cry’s out to live.
Yet at what point does one determine to “unplug”? I think when the “will” for life is no longer there after all else has been tried to sustain life.
Had he not been found and transported to the hospital to be placed on the ventilator in time, the natural course of events would have been that he died alone, possibly in great agony, within a few hours at the base of that tree. Removing the ventilator - stopping the life prolonging treatment - simply restarted the stopped countdown to that ultimate of all events, death. With medical care, he got to know what had happened to him, be told about the irreversibility of his condition and the consequences, received respect for his dignity as an adult to make ultimate decisions about his treatment, got to see and speak with his family one last time, and die as pain free as possible surrounded by loved ones. It wasn't a long life full of events, children, etc., but it was a more dignified way to meet life's end.
To me, the key factors were: 1) that his family had the wisdom to place him, if possible, in the central position of making the decision, 2) he had the presence of mind and courage to decide, and 3) the medical establishment showed sensitivity to the fact that there are times when the best option is not to try to win at all costs against death and disease but to let the ultimate transition occur under controlled circumstances. In all three factors, ego and fear of responsibility for the decision and its consequences were minimized.