Planned Parenthood falsely claims the phrase ‘late-term abortion’ is anti-abortion propaganda

The abortion industry and its advocates have a long history of attempting to control and manipulate the language used to describe abortion (which is itself a euphemism). This is because they know that language shapes thought, and if they can control how people discuss abortion, they can control how people think – and consequently vote and behave – with regard to this issue.

But their efforts are usually deceitful and almost comically contradictory. Take, for example, Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s recent blog post, which claims that the phrase “late-term abortion” is “made-up”:

There is no such thing as a late-term abortion. It has no basis in medicine and is pure anti-abortion propaganda crafted to confuse people about when abortion happens. … [I]t’s yet another lurid lie told to scare people, spread disinformation, and shame pregnant people for the decisions they make about their own bodies.

This is a fascinating claim, given that abortion advocates – and abortionists themselves – have used that exact terminology for years, and in some cases, continue to do so. Here are just a few examples of abortionists and pro-abortion websites still employing this terminology (“late-term abortion”) as of the date of this article’s publication:

Capital Women’s Group:

The infamous LeRoy Carhart’s CARE (Clinics for Abortion and Reproductive Excellence):

Abortion-finder website Abortion.com:

Furthermore, Planned Parenthood’s own former president Faye Wattleton casually and unironically used this phrase in an interview, which can still be found on Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona’s website:

Clearly, Planned Parenthood’s claim that this phrase was somehow invented by pro-lifers to shame women is completely bogus. If anyone is attempting to emotionally manipulate women, it’s Planned Parenthood, which is using what amounts to trumped-up charges to incite anger against pro-lifers. 

Moreover, the claim that the term is meant to “confuse people about when abortion happens” is also false. The CDC estimates that nearly 7% of all US abortions take place after the first trimester. This may sound minimal, however, the Guttmacher Institute estimates that 930,160 preborn children were aborted in the US in 2020 alone; 7% of this total represents over 65,000 unique lives brutally ended by second and third-trimester abortion procedures. This would rank late abortion as the ninth leading US cause of death, just behind diabetes and ahead of influenza/pneumonia. 

To claim that late abortions don’t happen is absurd; to claim that they are rare is disingenuous.

Truth is the enemy of the abortion industry. The truth of the humanity of the preborn at all stages of gestation reveals the homicidal nature of their grisly “work” and threatens their bottom line. Because of this, lies and obfuscation remain primary weapons in their arsenal to control public discourse — and, consequently, public policy, regarding abortion.

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