jwallace April 17, 2013
Yesterday I tweeted an article in LifeNews entitled “Three Terms Pro-Lifers Should Avoid That De-Humanize Unborn Babies.” The author, Kelsey Hazzard, made an excellent point about our use of words when arguing for the pro-life position. Hazzard argued that the terms, “first days/weeks/months of life”, “rapist’s child”, and “expectant parent/going to be a parent” have a subtle but powerful impact on the strength of our arguments. It’s an interesting read and it highlights the rhetorical power of words in this debate. As I read the article it reminded me of one of my own concerns related to the language in the pro-life dialogue. I have been trying to eliminate the term, “fetus” from my vocabulary for many of the same reasons that Hazzard suggested we eliminate the three aforementioned terms. I think the word “fetus” is a dehumanizing expression that allows people to objectify the unborn.
Continue reading:
link 
Reply
