What would George Orwell make of the assisted dying debate?

George Orwell would have plenty to say about the language used in the assisted dying debate. As Orwell wrote in his essay ‘Politics and the English Language’: ‘When you make a stupid remark its stupidity will be obvious, even to yourself’. He continued, ‘political language … is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind’. Never has this been truer than in relation to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which is back for debate in parliament today.

Dignity in Dying, the organisation that campaigns in favour of assisted dying, would certainly trouble Orwell. In 2006, after just over 70 years, the Voluntary Euthanasia Society changed its name to Dignity in Dying. The name ‘Voluntary Euthanasia Society’ tells you what the society is about; ‘Dignity in Dying’ does not. This shows just how language can corrupt thought, something against which Orwell railed.