the euphemist will see you now

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Nov 21, 2006

To carry out on a man an operation that he wouldn't otherwise consent to, you have to put him under anaesthetic first. When the operation in question is a change in morality, the anaesthetic is administered verbally. This from Oregon:

Compassion & Choices, an advocacy group that works with about three-quarters of the Oregonians who end their lives with a doctor's prescription, has long lobbied the state to stop using [the term "suicide"].

Kathryn Tucker, the group's legal director, says "suicide" in this context is "inaccurate and inflammatory," because it confuses a rational decision by a dying patient with the desperate, often-violent act of self-killing.

Homicide salesmen just hate it when the customer is conscious.

(tip to Mark Shea, and an SMS from George Orwell)