Why does this guide use the term “fetus” instead of “baby”?
If we want to reach people who disagree with us on abortion, we have to use words they understand and that don’t get us sidetracked into arguments about terminology. Referring to the unborn child as a “baby” is likely to trigger such an argument. But this argument can be easily avoided by using a neutral word like “fetus,” which is the medically accurate term for a human being from the eighth week of life up through birth.
Similarly, we should avoid words like “preborn,” which may be popular inside the pro-life movement, but which sound unfamiliar or even weird to the people we’re trying to reach. Better to use common words like “unborn” or “prenatal.”
