NPR Revising Abortion Language

Meredith Jessup | March 26, 2010 2:04 PM

A memo from David Sweeney, National Public Radio (NPR) managing editor, instructs NPR employees to change the way the radio network addresses the issue of abortion on-air.

NPR will no longer refer to individuals as "pro-life" or "pro-choice." Instead, they are declaring abortion access a "right" and dividing the public into those supporting these "rights" and those opposing them:

On the air, we should use "abortion rights supporter(s)/advocate(s)" and "abortion rights opponent(s)" or derivations thereof (for example: "advocates of abortion rights"). It is acceptable to use the phrase "anti-abortion", but do not use the term "pro-abortion rights".

What exactly is neutral about this language? In affirming abortion as a "right," NPR is clearly picking sides in this debate.