A Christian, intra religious translating dictionaryTerms relating to pregnancy and abortion 
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Overview of pregnancy and abortion terms:
There are fundamental differences in definitions used by pro-life and
pro-choice advocates:  |
Most Fundamentalist and other Evangelical Christians, pro-life
advocates, and religious conservatives believe that:
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Pregnancy begins during the process of conception when a unique DNA is constructed.
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Human life, in the form of an ovum and spermatozoon (i.e. forms of
life with human DNA), becomes a human person at conception.
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Any medication that terminates the life of a person, whether in the form of a
zygote, morula, pre-embryo, embryo or
fetus is an abortifacient -- it induces an abortion.
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The "morning after pill" (a.k.a. emergency contraception, (EC) either is or can be an abortifacient.
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Essentially all medical specialists, pro-choice advocates, religious
liberals, etc. believe that :
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Pregnancy begins when the pre-embryo embeds itself in the wall of
the uterus, about twelve days after conception.
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Human life becomes a human person later in pregnancy -- e.g. when
the fetus is viable, or when higher functions of the fetal brain first turn on and the fetus attains sentience, or at birth or at some other time.
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Any medication that terminates a pregnancy is an abortifacient.
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The "morning after" pill acts as a contraceptive in that it prevents ovulation -- the release of an ovum from an ovary, and inhibits conception. If conception
has already started, it cannot induce an abortion. Thus, it is not an abortifacient.
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With such differences in the basic definition of terms, meaningful dialogue between
pro-choice and pro-life advocates is essentially impossible -- even if the
desire were present. If the two groups were able to work together they could achieve their common goal of
reducing the abortion rate in the U.S. by reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies. Since about half of the pregnancies are unintended, and about half of all unintended pregnancies end in abortion, the abortion rate could be cut to a fraction of its present value if the use of contraceptives, including EC, were encouraged. Some countries in Europe have an unwanted pregnancy rate and thus an abortion rate than is a fraction of those seen in the U.S. Unfortunately, the lack of consensus on
meanings of terms, and the level of animosity between the tro groups makes joint activity difficult.
Contrasting definitions:
| Evangelical usage/term |
Some others' usage/term |
Comments |
| Chemical abortion |
A medically induced abortion that involves the use
of a medication. |
This refers to the use of medication (e.g. RU-486)
to terminate a pregnancy. "Others" include medical
professionals, pro-choice advocates, etc. "Chemical"
implies that the embryo is burned out; "Medical"
implies that a pharmaceutical is used to induce abortion.
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| Pro-abortion, Pro-borts, Pro-abort |
Pro-choice |
Individuals and groups in favor of abortion access and free choice for others. |
| Abortionists, murderers |
Abortion providers |
References to physicians who perform abortions. |
| Abortuary |
Women's clinic; abortion clinic |
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| Pro-life |
Anti-abortion, Pro-life. |
Favoring major restriction or complete elimination of abortion access. |
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Pregnancy starts at conception.
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Pregnancy starts when the fertilized ovum is implanted in the womb. |
"Others" include medical
professionals, scientists, pro-choice advocates, etc.
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Human life starts at conception.
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Human life starts weeks before conception. |
Each
sperm cell is clearly alive and contains human DNA, from the time that it left a testicle
until a few weeks later, at conception. So too for an ovum. Both have
been a form of human life well before conception. |
Human personhood starts at conception.
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This is a key difference! "Others" include many medical
professionals, pro-choice advocates, etc.
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"The unborn," "pre-born,"
"child,"
or "baby"
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Zygote, fertilized ovum, morula, blastocyst, embryo or fetus. |
These are largely medical terms. In popular use, the term "baby"
is used to refer to any stage of development from pre-embryo to infant. |
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An abortion is an intentional termination of a
pregnancy at any time from conception to birth
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A therapeutic abortion is an intentional termination
of a pregnancy, from implantation to viability. |
"Others" include medical
professionals, scientists, some pro-choice advocates, etc.
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| In a religious and moral sense, but not at this time in a legal
sense, all abortion result in the murder of a human person. |
Abortion kills a developing embryo or fetus that may be a human person or have the potential to become a human person. |
Abortion becomes murder when the ovum, embryo or fetus
has become a human person. There is no consensus on when this occurs. |
| A contraceptive device or medication prevents
conception. |
A contraceptive device or medication prevents
pregnancy. |
Physicians and pro-choice advocates generally define
pregnancy as starting many days after conception, when the pre-embryo
implants in the wall of the uterus. |
It is important to realize that when one group defines something differently from another group, this does not make one group clueless, ignorant. backwards, etc. They are simply two groups using differing definitions. Denegrating others happens often in areas where religion impacts people's sexual behavior, as in abortion access, rights of persons with a minority sexual orientation or gender identity, access to marriage, etc.
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Copyright © 2000 to 2010 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally written: 2000-OCT-02
Latest update and review: 2010-JUN-20
Author: B.A. Robinson 
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