My heart leapt when I read the accusation by Political Research Associates, a group "devoted to the study and documentation of right wing political movements in the United States," and which consults for "groups... organizing to oppose campaigns undertaken by the radical right," in the May 20 Somerville News:
"The Christian right is so common now people don't realize the degree to which it has become part of our thinking about the way things should be done," [PRA co-founder and ACLU member Chip Berlet] said.The parlance of the anti-choice movement, for example, has become institutionalized in Boston's newspaper of record. "Unborn child is now used by the Boston Globe instead of fetus," [senior researcher Pat] Chamberlain said.
My, such paranoia about a perfectly legitimate term.
However, a check of the Boston Globe revealed it has used "fetus" in articles 2,548 times dating back to 1979, when its archives listing began, and "unborn child" only 1,160 times. A check to see whether PRA's fear is a recent development showed BG has used "fetus" 39 times in 2007 and "unborn child" 33 times. So, maybe so?
No, it appears BG may only use the term "unborn child" when "fetus" would sound ridiculous:
Julia Roberts plans to save money by dressing her unborn child in hand-me-downs and charity shop clothes. (May 4, 2007)If you want to know if your marriage will work or what to name your unborn child and are looking for an alternative to laying out the tarot cards, reading the tea leaves, or heading to a psychic.... (April 27, 2007)
A man tried to hire someone to kill his unborn child after learning his ex-girlfriend was pregnant and about to give birth.... [Charles] Young indicated he wanted his ex-girlfriend injured in such a way that the unborn child would die, the sheriff said.... (Oct. 13, 2006)
Ridiculous is what PRA is if it thinks MSM is coming anywhere close to treating our topic with objectivity.
And PRA apparently needs researchers who don't panic and lose their wits when reading "unborn child."
[The April 27 photo of Roberts, pregnant with her third fetus, is courtesy of People.]
Let's try it:
Julia Roberts plans to save money by dressing her fetus in hand-me-downs and charity shop clothes. (May 4, 2007)
If you want to know if your marriage will work or what to name your fetus and are looking for an alternative to laying out the tarot cards, reading the tea leaves, or heading to a psychic.... (April 27, 2007)
A man tried to hire someone to kill his fetus after learning his ex-girlfriend was pregnant and about to give birth.... [Charles] Young indicated he wanted his ex-girlfriend injured in such a way that the fetus would die, the sheriff said.... (Oct. 13, 2006)
The first one would make no sense if you used "fetus." Though it's still strangely worded, even in the original. You can't dress a fetus, not matter what you call him or her. They should have said, "Julia Roberts plans to save money once the child is born by dressing her baby in hand-me-downs and charity shop clothes."
The second one is about planned and wanted children that are getting names. Where's their beef? The mother conferred the "unborn child" status on the fetus in question by deciding to name it, hasn't she?
The third one is paradoxical -- the woman "was about to give birth". She, like the hypothetical parents in Example 2, had conferred childhood on the fetus, according to prochoice rhetoric. And it was near birth, for crying out loud! Sheesh! And what were they supposed to do, call it the man's fetus? That's bizarre. The only way to get around that would be to say "the fetus he fathered," which would give the fetus in question a father and thus make it a child anyway.
They need to get their heads from out their rear ends.
C. S. Lewis was an advocate of simplicity. Marketing has gotten the best out of culture. Since the beginning of time the baby has been called "unborn" while in the uterus. To use "fetus" is definitely a marketing term from the pro-choice movement. Finally, C. S. Lewis also talked about the transcendent moral law -- which applies to all of us whether we want it or not... and thus, the guilt of calling it Fetus...when we know is an unborn child.
Edgar,