Associated Press instructs journalists to use pro-abortion language

The Associated Press has updated the guidelines in its stylebook for journalists regarding abortion, instructing writers to no longer use language that could be regarded as pro-life.

"Use the modifiers anti-abortion or abortion-rights; don’t use pro-life, pro-choice or pro-abortion unless they are in quotes or proper names. Avoid abortionist, which connotes a person who performs clandestine abortions," the stylebook now says.



The Associated Press stylebook is the most widely used guide amongst journalists on all points on the political spectrum, but it is likely that some news outlets will not be following these updated rules. 

The choice of words used can certainly alter the narrative of a story, argue Virginia Allen and Mary Margaret Olohan of The Daily Signal.

A survey from June of this year revealed that around half of Americans approved with the Supreme Court's decision to overturn abortion landmark ruling Roe v. Wade.

"The Associated Press Stylebook’s decision to replace the term 'pro-life' with 'anti-abortion' is another attempt from the left to paint the pro-life community in a negative light," Allen and Olohan argue, adding that the updated language doesn't reflect the pro-life community that exists today.

"If news outlets want to represent the pro-life and pro-choice communities accurately, they will be wise to ignore these latest updates from the Associated Press Stylebook," they add.

Given the prevelence of left-wing rhetoric in the mainstream, it is likely that these guidelines will be followed by the majority of news outlets, a move that could further erode the trust that Americans have legacy media.

An Axios poll from last year concluded that trust in traditional media has declined to an all time low. This tracks with the fact that a number of mainstream media outlets have announced mass layoffs recently, including CNN and the Washington Post.