Life Extension: Euthanasia

Radical life extension (henceforth RLE) will likely fuel the drive to legalize and expand euthanasia. One reason is that being actively killed from the outside may become the only certain way to die. Particularly if the medical technologies involve automatic, ongoing repair of the body (such as via perpetual nanobots or infection with bioengineered germs) it may become extremely difficult to die by simply being "left alone." (One can even imagine a body that takes incredibly long to starve or dehydrate because of these repairers constantly fixing the damage from deprivation.) In such a situation it might be possible to shut off or remove the treatments and die through some "internal" means such as starvation or aging, but this approach is unlikely to be acceptable in a RLE society. Both the ravages of aging and more-than-minor physical suffering are likely to be looked upon with horror and as nothing that a sane person would subject himself to. Thus a painless, certain means of death will be demanded for those who wish to die. (These may ultimately become few in number, as I will discuss later.)

Even if direct killing methods are not strictly necessary for death in a RLE society, euthanasia will fit with the expectations of direct control and medicalization being a part of any and all life- and health-related actions. Both an ever-expanding place for medicine in one's life and an ever-growing sense of control over one's body will likely mean that leaving death to chance or resorting to violent, "messy" means of suicide will not be acceptable. In other words, euthanasia would be a natural and fitting in outgrowth of a RLE culture.

In addition to these factors, euthanasia offers a means of mitigating the population-related problems I outlined in my previous entry. If dramatic overcrowding develops, then any means of getting rid of people will likely be encouraged. The free creation and storage of a computer-based simulation of any euthanisee's brain (falsely billed as "mind uploading," no doubt) could be offered as an incentive for self-termination. ("Tired of a bodily existence? Transmigrate into a realm of infinite possibilities -- Become one with the digital universe today! Visit your local Thanatos Center for more information.")