By Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director, Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation
Through my two tours of journalism school—graduate and undergraduate—and a stint as an adjunct faculty member teaching journalism—I became accustomed to the crafting of news articles. I tried to pursue balance and fairness in my reports, and was cognizant of how a single word could dramatically change the meaning of a piece.
I am troubled by a trend in journalism to use the terminology of the abortion industry in its efforts to sell abortion to the masses. Specifically, I am shocked by the term “abortion care” which has crept its way into mainstream news reports.
Abortion is the taking of an innocent, unrepeatable, incomparable human life. It is a tragic ending to an unborn child’s life and represents a traumatic experience for a mother who is left to deal with the grief and horror of losing a baby to abortion.
It is, quite simply, not a caring, compassionate act but an act of violence perpetrated against both mother and child.
“Abortion care” is biased terminology, meant to drum up support and sympathy for abortion operations, which take the lives of nearly 900,000 preborn babies each year. The use of the term signals that the editorial policy of the news outlet is pro-abortion—whether that news agency is willing to admit it or not.
Biased news reporting is certainly nothing new, but the lengths that some news outlets will go to issue excuses for the abortion industry are truly mind-boggling.
As advocates for life, we know that the strength of our arguments. They are rooted in science, reason, technology, and the law, and can stand on their own; we do not need an assist from sympathetic reporters. But I do worry about how major media routinely misinform ordinary citizens about the inherent nature of abortion.
Ending a human life, under the guise of compassion, is not “care.” It is a violation of human rights that no amount of wordsmithing can erase.