AP Style Guide Pivots: ‘Pregnant Women, Pregnant People’ Both Acceptable Terms

Left-leaning Associated Press updated its style guide Wednesday, telling journalists that both “pregnant women” and “pregnant people” are acceptable terms to use in reporting.

“We now have guidance saying that ‘pregnant women’ or ‘women seeking abortions’ is acceptable phrasing. Phrases like ‘pregnant people’ or ‘people seeking abortions’ are acceptable when you want to be inclusive of people who have those experiences but do not identify as women,” AP Stylebook tweeted.

The style guide change comes after activists and Democrats pushed the term “pregnant people,” only to then despair the supposed loss of “women’s rights” after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Conservative critics were quick to point out Democrats’ seemingly inadvertent acknowledgment that pregnancy is, in fact, unique to women.

AP Stylebook’s new definition is rife with doublethink — a common trend as corporate media scrambles to simultaneously uphold Democrats’ abortion agenda and their gender identity agenda before the midterms. 

“Pregnant women or women seeking abortions is acceptable phrasing. Phrasing like pregnant people or people seeking abortions is also acceptable to include people who have those experiences but do not identify as women, such as some transgender men and some nonbinary people,” the new definition reads.

We now have guidance saying that "pregnant women" or "women seeking abortions" is acceptable phrasing.
Phrases like "pregnant people" or "people seeking abortions" are acceptable when you want to be inclusive of people who have those experiences but do not identify as women. pic.twitter.com/ljaabPxWak

— APStylebook (@APStylebook) August 17, 2022

However, AP scrapped “people with uteruses” and “birthing people,” calling them “overly clinical language.” The term “birthing people” is a favorite of the Biden administration, which has used it to replace the word “mothers.”

“Use judgment and decide what is most appropriate in a given story. Neutral alternatives like abortion patients are also acceptable, but do not use overly clinical language like people with uteruses or birthing people,” the tweet continues. 

AP’s change also follows left-leaning Poynter Institute, a non-profit journalism school which oversees fact-checkers. The day Roe v. Wade was overturned, Poynter published a guide titled “How to Ensure Diverse Viewpoints in Abortion Coverage.” The guide tells journalists that “pregnant people is more inclusive language than pregnant women.” 

“If reporting on an individual, ask the source what gender identity to use. The gender might not be relevant to your story. If it is, respect how your source self-identifies,” the guide continues. 

Far-left organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood have also advocated for using the term “pregnant people.”