Still, think of it from the family’s point of view? The pressure to be “good” children. For most of us, that means doing the best for our parents, and that means taking every measure to extend their lives.
It gets worse. If you are due to inherit a big inheritance, you have to do even more, just to prove you love your parent, and aren’t just in it for the money.
Even in these times when people have living wills, and instructions about their care if they become incompetent, it isn’t enough. It is hard to interpret these things, and if the kids are arguing about it, the default position is to do everything you can.
We need training in how to let go. There are hospices, where you can go for your last days, to die. You aren’t given so much care, except for things to make you comfortable, while remaining as lucid as you can be. Sometimes there are tradeoffs between pain and lucidity.
This is so much more complicated than the cost of care vs the return on investment. Are all lives worth the same? We like to say yes, but the truth is that it’s not so simple. In some cultures, old people go off to die, when they feel they are too much of a burden on their community and family. We don’t have that kind of recognition any more. When did we lose it?