The library IS included in the Arduino 0022 download for windows.
Understood
The fact that examples are not should be a clue for you to stop using it.
No. IMHO that is an awful, bad, bad way to handle obsolete or deprecated components.
As my old boss used to say "Assume makes an ASS of U and ME" 
We need to strive to be clear about boundaries and scope.
IMHO, removing the example, so that anyone gets to this state where they have to ask about it (already wasted time), and then responding "you can guess what status it must be when the example is missing" is not a Quality Approach (TM:-).
As I wrote, if it is obsolete or deprecated, it should be clear and unambiguous.
Write that it is obsolete or deprecated in the Libraries/Reference documentation, Release Notes and the code and example.
If it is not obsolete or deprecated, include the example so that folks can test it to get some confidence that it works, and see how it works. This is what usually happens for libraries included with the Arduino IDE, and it is very, very helpful.
IMHO Folks should never need to guess at the status of code included in the Arduino IDE.
If there is a library with some better features, include that comment right next to SoftwareSerial in the Libraries/Reference page, and even in the SoftwareSerial code example.
Otherwise bugs are even harder to find, and beginners are left wondering what to do.
I thought the lack of the SoftwareSerial example code (from the Library reference page) being included in the IDE download was a bug, and I still think it is a bug.
It is either a bug in :
- the contents of the download because the example code is missing, or
- in the reference documentation which should say it is deprecated and will be obsolete at some date or status, or
- in the process around deprecating components prior to making them obsolete, because IMHO it shouldn't ever be unclear.