Overpopulation A Means For An End. Timothy Schneider. Ph...

Overpopulation: A means to an end. Timothy Schneider PH 410 Medical Ethics and Leadership Modern healthcare is amazing. We are progressively finding treatments and even cures for diseases and other ailments that were causing widespread death less than a century ago. One of society’s greatest achievements is the dramatic increase in life expectancy. Most children born in 1900 had a life expectancy of around 50 year of age. Now life expectancy is estimated at about 80 years of age. However, the number of people age 85 and older is on the rise accounting for 8 percent of the world’s 7 Â ¼ billion people (US World, 2015). In many countries this 8 and over population is the fastest growing with projections to increase 351 percent between 2010 and 2050 with a 188 percent increase for the population aged 65 or older and a 22 percent increase for those under the age of 65. Additionally, a growing number of Americans are living to age 100. Nationwide, the centenarian population has grown 65.8 percent over the past three decades, from 32,194 people who were age 100 or older in 1980 to 53,364 centenarians in 2010, according to Census Bureau data (US Dept of Health NIA, 2015). With all the advances in medical technology contributing to longevity of life, where do we put the people that would have normally passed on? What ethical dilemmas do we now face? What do we do about this problem? This paper will address three hot topics to consider as we ponder the challenges of continuing to