Did You Know?

Words which a few years ago were used to show care such as “treatment,” “compassion,” “comfort care” and “terminal” — now mean something far different than they did then. In the debate over euthanasia, these words are used to do more than hurt — they are used to kill. For example:

“Following the abortive attempts in Washington and California, euthanasia advocates went back to the drawing board to reframe their rhetoric. In preparation for a new initiative campaign then being formulated for Oregon, a poll was commissioned in 1993 by the newly formed Euthanasia Research and Guidance Organization. The poll — which was the organization's first activity — was designed to determine ‘if euphemisms allow people to come to grips with brutal facts which, stated another way, would be repugnant to them.’

“Not surprisingly, results indicated that people would be more inclined to vote for laws that were couched in euphemisms. The poll indicated that the greatest number of respondents (65%) would favor a law using the terminology ‘to die with dignity.’ As the drafting process of what would eventually be known as Measure 16, Oregon's ‘Death with Dignity Act,’ went on, information from the poll was incorporated to ensure the greatest possible chance of passage.”

Results of Roper Poll cited in ERGO! magazine in August 1993.