United States Abortion Discourse: An Examination of Problematic Terms

United States Abortion Discourse: An Examination of Problematic Terms

Virginia Nastase

This paper examines how United States abortion discourse has changed from the 19th century to the present. As Ahearn and Duranti have shown, language use can generate issues of agency, shape ideologies and create new social realities. This is no different with abortion discourse throughout this time period. Through discourse analysis and literature review, this paper explorse how certain terms used in abortion discourse reflect ideological perspectives and affect perceptions within the United States’ abortion debate of the last two centuries. The research shows that the referents “elective abortion” and “therapeutic abortion” are used in specific contexts and have helped to construct a social reality around abortion discourse. This has had an effect on public perception surrounding abortion which has shaped negative experiences for women considering abortion. Negative connotations surrounding abortion discourse can involve feelings of guilt or shame for a woman and sometimes generate problems with accessibility to the procedure. Using theories of agency, this research demonstrates, on a broader level, how abortion discourse since the 19th century has continued to shape modern perspectives on abortion and how the use of the terms elective and therapeutic abortion remains problematic for a woman’s agency and accessibility regarding abortion.