Cid_Yama wrote:There was some dystopian movie back in the '60's, I can't recall the name, but the US passed a law that at age 60, you became ineligible for medication or medical treatment.
It was pretty good, but I can't remember what the name was. It may have been a made for TV movie.
A very popular and good book discussing the Vietnam war, but in the context of an interstellar future war, called "The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman, had the theme of a future where retirees with Medicare no longer received treatment, unless they had some kind of very special political status as a VIP. Expensive to prosecute a war with aliens and all that...
There was a Star Trek TNG episode with that theme, called "Half a Life". (With advancing medical technology, 60 probably WAS roughly half a life). A 60 year old scientist from another race was about to go report and die (even at the cost of his own work, which was help saving his planet) as that's what duty and tradition (and saving face, re his family) called for.
When set against the Klingon attitude of hoping to die in combat while still at a useful age, it was an interesting idea.
...
After watching loved ones dies horribly from the ravages of old age, diseases like cancer, seeing the "care" received in supposedly "among the best" nursing homes, I value quality of life FAR above length of life, at least for my personal decisions.
Each to their own. At least, so far, we have the right to choose as long as some well-meaning (or not) person doesn't get us ruled incompetent.