Until the 1940s, most Americans were born and died at home. (2)Births and deaths happened when they happened, often without medical intervention. (3)If a baby was too premature or defective, or if a seriously ill person was dying,
there was little the family doctor could do about it other than to offer comfort. (4)Today, most Americans are born and die
in hospitals under the supervision of medical personnel who sometimes decide to keep them alive long beyond the point
at which they would normally have died. (5)Patients can be hooked up for days, months, or years to machines that
sustain their lives. (6)This step may be taken even if they are in constant pain or permanently comatose. (7)Obviously.
technology has greatly changed how we are born and die.