End of Life

Right now, the human race is experiencing the longest average life expectancies ever recorded. Based on world averages, a baby born today can expect to live to nearly 70 years old. If that doesn’t sound particularly impressive to a Canadian or American audience, perhaps this statistic might: in the middle ages, a baby born in the developed world could expect to live to, on average, about 30 years old.

According to the New York Times, a recent study indicates that doctors often knowingly provide terminally ill patients with inaccurate assessments of life expectancy.

The study, conducted by the Soros Foundation Project and Robert Wood Johnson Scholars Program, in conjunction with the National Institute of Health, found that less than 40% of doctors would offer an honest estimate of how long they expect a terminally ill patient to survive.