Correct Language About Pregnancy and Abortion

By Fr. Frank Pavone
^{HERALD Columnist}

When a woman is pregnant, people often say she is "expecting a child" or is "going to have a baby" or is "going to be a mother." We all use these expressions from force of habit, and using them has no reflection on the strength of our pro-life convictions.

Nevertheless, I suggest that we no longer use these phrases. They do not accurately describe what is happening.

A woman who is pregnant is not "expecting" a child. She already has one. The child exists, is living and growing in her womb. She is not about to bring the child "into the world." The child is already in the world. The mother’s womb is as much in the world as the mother herself.

The pregnant woman is not "going to be" a mother. She already is a mother. By saying she is "going to be" a mother, we inadvertently reinforce the notion that motherhood begins at birth. This reinforces the idea that the child really is a child only at birth.

A pregnant woman is fully a mother. She does not have "half" a child or a child "on the way." ("On the way" from where?) The child is here, already in the world, fully unique and in possession of the same dignity as every other person.

If our language reflects this reality, we will help the world to understand that children in the womb are indeed members of the human family — right here and now.

People will then be able to ask the right questions about abortion.

The reasons many give in support of abortion focus on the question, "Should she have another child?" Our answer to that question can sometimes be "no." There can be circumstances — medical, financial and social — in which a person should not have another child.

If, however, a woman is pregnant, she already has a child. The question of abortion is not about whether to bring a child into the world, but about whether to throw a child out of the world! The question is, "Will this child be cared for or will this child be killed?" While we can sometimes say that circumstances dictate not having another child, we can never say that circumstances dictate killing a child.

We are in fact very sensitive to circumstances such as immaturity, or lack of resources to raise a child. Were the child born, however, would the problems of immaturity or lack of resources disappear the day after birth? No, they would not. Yet on that day, just about everyone can see that killing the child is not justified. What makes abortion different?

Language is powerful. It both reflects and shapes what is in the mind and heart. A small but necessary step to ending abortion is to use the right words and ask the right questions.

Fr. Pavone is the International Director of Priests for Life and an official at the Vatican’s Council for the Family.

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