Words matter when talking about abortion.

So, as the debate over how and where, or even if, the abortion pill mifepristone can be dispensed, we are hearing and reading about the term “medication abortion” to describe its use.

Even though “medication” is a term reserved for describing the use of various pharmaceuticals — whether over the counter or by prescription — meant to cure a disease or relieve its symptoms, abortion advocates and healthcare providers want mifepristone viewed as a medication as if pregnancy were a disease, and they need words to support this mischaracterization.

This use of subterfuge is also why abortions are more frequently being sourced within medical facilities under the departmental category of “reproductive health,” as if abortions were just part of the continuum of prenatal care, when it is the absolute opposite in nearly all cases.

If abortions are going to remain a right, then we should speak honestly about what they are, not disguise them with language that deliberately misrepresents the destruction of human life with words that imply a wholesome outcome.

Mark Wood, Poland