Many in the Boston area were outraged. Mather's fellow ministers proclaimed that smallpox was a punishment from on high, and any attempt to circumvent it was interfering with divine will. There were riots, and threats of hanging. At age 16, it was Franklin's first published writing. Franklin grew wiser with age, and became a respected scientist.
People fear new ideas.
The same emotional objections will be raised when human immortality becomes a public issue. These objections boil down to a choice between pessimism and optimism, a struggle between hope and fear. They believe that we are striving for perfection, and we can achieve it. The first immortal human beings are living among us now. You may be one of them.