The Distortion of Language

There is an extremely interesting article by Neil Scolding, Professor of Clinical Neurosciences at Bristol University, in the current (April 2012) edition of Standpoint.

I won't do Professor Scolding the disservice of summarising his article, which deals with abortion and "after-birth abortion" (or "infanticide"), but my eye was caught by his comments about "The distortion of language" and, in particular, the use of terms such as "non-persons" and "after-birth abortion".

It is very easy to shy away from the discussion of this sort of language in the classroom (unless we are studying 1984) but there is no intrinsic reason why we should do so. Language change is a perfectly valid topic for discussion and the horrifying manipulation of the language by advocates of infanticide should shock us into action.

Professor Scolding's articles are always worth reading - click here or here for articles about adult stem cell research - or you can hear him talking about the Day for Life here. For a more personal discussion of his life, work and faith click here.