ABSTRACT
Bioethicists and social scientists present varying viewpoints on the desirability and impact of much longer life spans. Some counsel humanity to accept mortality, stress the benefits of finitude, and caution against active scientific research to expand the outer limits of human life. This chapter considers the impact of significant life extension on individuals and on society. For the individual, life extension will alter the current human life cycle and, thus, may change attitudes and activities. A transformation of the human life cycle may also shift society's economic policies and it political foci. Finally, the development of age-retarding interventions raises a number of ethical issues, including equal access and ageism. In the field of life extension technology, the appropriate amount of regulatory control may lie somewhere in between. Some government regulation is needed to ensure the safety and effectiveness of any medical intervention.
