Letter to the editor: Dying well

Notes: "I am very glad that the church has formed a task force to look into end-of-life issues. As a person who is nearer the end than the beginning, it is an existential question for me. I hope the task force will move beyond the stance the Church of England took in the 2007 statement you quote: 'The church sees euthanasia and assisted suicide as unacceptable ways of protecting human dignity', as though the words were synonymous. There are dozens of words in the English language that derive from the Greek: 'eulogy', or speaking well, 'euphoric', or feeling well among them, and of course, 'euthanasia', which does not mean terminating life or assisted suicide, but which unfortunately is what it has come to mean in common parlance. The straightforward meaning of the word is 'dying well' from the Greek 'eu' (well) and 'thanatos' (death). And who would not wish to die well ? Perhaps any report on the work of the task force could be entitled, 'On Dying Well'." [Text of entire article.]

Subjects: Euthanasia (The Greek word); Euthanasia - Religious aspects - Church of England; Euthanasia - Religious aspects - Anglican Church of Canada; Death - Religious aspects - Anglican Church of Canada