Newsletter #18

On Moving Beyond Abortion Euphemisms

Note to politicians: remember that voters think it’s fishy if you don’t take any blame for a bad economic situation, then six weeks later you take credit for an improving economic situation.

Talking Versus Thinking

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines “euphemism” as “the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant.” For examples, see nearly all the rhetoric about abortion in the mainstream news networks, i.e., the pro-abortion perspective.

“Reproductive health care” is the most common and ingenuous one, though it runs in packs: “avoiding unwanted pregnancies,” “abortion havens,” or a new favorite, “regulat[ing] their reproductive situation.” This last one is courtesy of Janet Yellen, U.S. Treasury Secretary. (As an aside, why is the Treasury Secretary, amid 8% inflation, expressing her grave concerns about abortion rights in a Congressional hearing? Good to know the Cabinet is on top of their areas.)

I’ve been think…