If and when we prolifers engage with people who disagree with us about abortion–and we should engage–we should be aware of some of the minefields that surround those conversations.
The people at the Equal Rights Institute have some suggestions. Read the entire post here. It’s worth reading, even if you disagree with parts of it. It’s an honest, sensitive attempt to find a way through the impasse.
Fetus. Baby. Clump of cells. Preborn. Unborn.
In the abortion debate, there are a number of different ways people refer to the entity in the womb, and they all come with different baggage.
It probably won’t surprise you that there are disagreements between pro-choice and pro-life advocates as far as which terms to use, but it doesn’t stop there! For years, it’s even been a debate amongst pro-lifers. After all, language can matter an awful lot when it comes to perception and psychology. It’s only natural for us to push for terms that we believe are most effective in helping our society understand the value of the human in the womb.
At ERI, we often get questions about the words we choose to use and the scenarios we use them in. I’d like to take this opportunity to give you not just an approved word bank, but also a look into our thought process. …
Circleslide 
Conflating Prochoice and Prolife delegitimizes and monetizes the discussion. Prochoice cannot be defined as Proabortion nor can Prolife be considered to prohibit birth control.
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I agree, the terms “prolife” and “prochoice” are messy and often unhelpful. For example: in official Catholic teaching, unless someone opposes the death penalty they are not truly “prolife”. And prolife people hold various positions on birth control.
But I fear these are the best terms we have, and they’re certainly the terms most people use.
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