Week 7: Framing the Fight
Hello Readers!
This week our topic is language.
In the abortion rights debate, language has never been neutral. Every word is chosen with a purpose. It doesn’t matter if it’s a political slogan or news article heading, the words used influence how people feel and what they believe.
Look at pro-life vs. pro-choice. Pro-life sounds positive! Who doesn’t want to support life? But this label deliberately shifts focus away from a pregnant person’s rights and onto the fetus. It frames abortion as the act of taking a life, eliciting a strong emotional response from many. On the other side, pro-choice centers on the pregnant person and their right to autonomy. The opposing phrases are so simple, but they capture the philisophy of both sides.
And notice how anti-abortion activists have never called themselves “anti-choice”. Instead, they use language like “baby killer” or “murderer” to paint pro-choice activists and supporters as extremists. Using such emotional insults shuts down respectful debate, pushing the idea that abortion is cruel and immoral.
It’s not just the big terms either. For example, calling a pregnant person a “mother” instead of a “patient” or “person seeking care” immediately paints the situation differently. Using the term “unborn child” instead of an “embryo” has the same effect. Just by changing your wording, a person seeking an abortion changes from someone in need of medical treatment to someone destroying a life.
This is also prominent in legal language. Many legislators and states have pushed for heartbeat bills, bans on abortion once a heartbeat is detected (usually around 6 weeks). “Heartbeat” suggests something emotional and human. These “heartbeats” are actually just electronic impulses in embryonic tissue that begin even before a viable heart or fetus exists, before many people even know they are pregnant. This term is designed to be emotionally charged.
Terms like, “partial-birth abortion” are the same. This term has no basis in medicine or science and was created in politics to scare the public away from late-term abortions. To someone with no medical expertise, a partial-birth abortion sounds too similar to infanticide. In reality, the procedure this term refers to is very rare and only used in the most severe emergencies during the later stages of pregnancies.
Language doesn’t just reflect public opinion; it actively shapes it. When abortion is described as tragic or cruel, then more people justify restrictions. In order to change laws and shift public opinion, we need to change the conversation. Abortion must be acknowledged as healthcare and as a right.
Thank you for reading. Next week’s topic will be a surprise for you all and myself!
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