A long and healthy life is a goal for most people. But allure of longevity does have its limits, the
Wall Street Journal reports.
That's according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center that looks at attitudes about aging, medical advances, and "radical life extension" — the possibility that science might slow (or stop) the aging process and "allow humans to remain healthy and productive to the age of 120 or more."
When asked whether they would undergo medical treatments that would enable them to live 12 decades or more, a majority of surveyed adults — 56 percent — said "no." The median ideal life span among those surveyed was 90, or about 11 years longer than the current average U.S. life expectancy of 78.7 years.
Why not? Two-thirds said longer life expectancies would strain the country's natural resources. Almost six in 10 said such treatment would be "fundamentally unnatural."