Chief architect of Obamacare sparks furore over wish to “die at 75”
BMJ 2015; 350 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h292 (Published 19 January 2015) Cite this as: BMJ 2015;350:h292
- Jeanne Lenzer, associate editor, The BMJ, New York, USA
- jeanne.lenzer{at}gmail.com
Ezekiel Emanuel, one of the chief architects of the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare, has unleashed controversy after he published an article in the Atlantic magazine entitled, “Why I hope to die at 75.”1
His comments triggered an outpouring of mostly anger at the Atlantic website, where over 4000 responses have been posted. Many echoed Archer R Gravely, who wrote: “I wonder if [Emanuel’s] involvement in the development of Obama Care is connected to this provocative opinion? I certainly have no desire to ‘live’ at an advanced age in a nursing home but I know a number of 80+ folks who have a pretty good time going fishing and shooting at the range.” Others said that his comments promoted “death panels,” which some conservatives [falsely] believed Obamacare would set up to decide who is allowed to receive life saving health care.
Emanuel, 57, a bioethicist and oncologist, defended his comments during a webinar with journalists last month, saying his statements have been misunderstood.
In the Atlantic article, …
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