A shame about the localization.
As someone who has a bit of knowledge about the medical industry in the US, I can see where the former Sage's feelings are coming from. After untold years of peace, a lack of needing to confront death and face up to the mortality of humanity, nobody understands what it means to be mortal. Miracles (technological or magical) are everywhere! Nobody should die because that's the end which can't be fixed.
All the other arguments against it (no dignity when stuck for decades on a bed with a tube down the throat, no quality of life for a 96 year old going through a surgical operation to remove tumors, no humanity for someone who'd unleash a giant leech on a city to live longer) don't register because death is, to The Society, the worst imaginable fate because it can't be undone.
All the power and miracles at hand, and people are still unable to get past their fear, unable to confront their cowardice, unable to accept the natural order of life.