Life Talk
J. C. Willke on the Words Pro-Lifers Ought to Use
Words are important. Words are powerful. The words pro-life and pro-abortion activists use shape the minds and value systems of those who listen to us and understand reality through our words. The pro-abortionists’ use of the name “pro-choice” is no accident, for example. It is the last major argument they have: that a woman has a right to choose, while not saying what she is choosing and hoping the listener or reader doesn’t think about it. Every time we call them “pro-choice,” we reinforce their argument and help them kill babies. For the same reason, we need to speak of the “right to life” or “pro-life” movement, not the “anti-abortion” movement.
Some differences are more subtle, depending on the connotations or associations the words have. For example, do not speak of abortionists “doing” or “performing” abortions, but rather of their “committing” abortions. To do so immediately places a cloud or stigma over that abortion being done. Doctors perform life-saving surgery; criminals commit crimes.
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J. C. Willke , a physician, is the president of the Life Issues Institute and author of Abortion Questions & Answers (Hayes Publishing).
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33.3—May/June 2020
Human & Divine Societies Require Careful Thought & Discourse by Anthony Esolen
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