Euphemistic language is of course everywhere, but one of the most common cultural themes spoken about in circuitous language is death. A debate in Oregon over a euthanasia law has sparked what seems to be a competition in vagueness. First physician-assisted suicide was abandoned for physician-assisted death which seemed too harsh for some who opted for participation in the Death With Dignity Act. To top things off another alternative is being proposed: choice and control at the end of life. All this resulted in the greatest phrase ever turned by an Economist correspondent, who stated that all this periphrastic language “would have George Orwell rotating longitudinally in his subterranean post-life enclosure.” Well said.
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Matt added these pithy words on 22 Feb 07 at 11:04 pmIf they need to debate the terminology like that then what it really shows is that most people find the idea of euthanasia unpalatable.
