Ezekiel Emanuel on CNBC discussing care in old age (Rationing)

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As a result of advances in science and medicine, humans are living longer than ever. It's hard to believe that at the turn of the last century, the average American life expectancy was just 47. Today, Americans can expect to make it to the ripe old age of 79 -- and an increasing number live much longer.

Though many people welcome the idea of living as long as possible and watching their great-grandchildren grow up, some view the prospect of extremely old age as burdensome on both a societal and personal level.

In his controversial essay that appears in the October issue of The Atlantic, the prominent bioethicist Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel argues that longevity -- living into your 80s, 90s and beyond -- often comes at the expense of quality of life. Emanuel says he will be perfectly content if he dies at age 75.

"By the time I reach 75, I will have lived a complete life," Emanuel writes in the magazine. "I will have loved and been loved. My children will be grown and in the midst of their own rich lives. I will have seen my grandchildren born and beginning their lives. I will have pursued my life's projects and made whatever contributions, important or not, I am going to make. And hopefully, I will not have too many mental and physical limitations."

Emanuel, the director of the Clinical Bioethics Department at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and head of the Department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, helped develop President Obama's health care reform law. Emanuel makes it clear that he is not arguing for euthanasia or assisted suicide at a certain age.

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