Ezekiel Emanuel is one of the architects of Obamacare and the head of the Clinical Bioethics Department at the National Institutes of Health, and he thinks 75 years is about all a human lifespan should be.  In an article titled, Why I hope to die at 75,” he lays out his thinking. Those of us who cling to life are mistaken:

Americans seem to be obsessed with exercising, doing mental puzzles, consuming various juice and protein concoctions, sticking to strict diets, and popping vitamins and supplements, all in a valiant effort to cheat death and prolong life as long as possible. This has become so pervasive that it now defines a cultural type: what I call the American immortal. I reject this aspiration. I think this manic desperation to endlessly extend life is misguided and potentially destructive. For many reasons, 75 is a pretty good age to aim to stop.

Photo credit: The Atlantic

Ben Shapiro, writing at Breitbart, points out that Emanuel’s parents are already beyond the years Zeke would allot them. Oops!

Today he can swim, read the newspaper, needle his kids on the phone, and still live with my mother in their own house. But everything seems sluggish. Although he didn’t die from the heart attack, no one would say he is living a vibrant life. When he discussed it with me, my father said, “I have slowed down tremendously. That is a fact. I no longer make rounds at the hospital or teach.”

Emanuel grudgingly adds, “Despite this, he also said he was happy.”

Well, what would he know about it? It takes a mandarin, a credentialed ethicist, to decide whose life is worth living. And with Obamacare rationing medical services, those death panels Sarah Palin warned about are just around the corner. James Taranto notes that even the New York Times is coming around:

Two Papers in One!

"False 'Death Panel' Rumor Has Some Familiar Roots"--headline, New York Times, Aug. 14, 2009

"Panel Urges Overhauling Health Care at End of Life"--headline, New York Times, Sept. 18, 2014

Ezekiel Emanuel is one of the creepiest people in public life, and I am glad he is unashamedly exposing his views to general scrutiny. And, should he enjoy good health at age 75, I wonder if his views will still be the same?