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Associated Press updates style guide for journalists with strong pro-abortion bias

The Associated Press has updated its Associated Press Stylebook, telling journalists to stop using the term ‘pro-life’, and say ‘anti-abortion instead.  

It further recommends “Avoid abortionist, which connotes a person who performs clandestine abortions.”

The Associated Press (AP) produces the most widely used style guide, which is used by journalists from across the political spectrum.

The guidelines also advise journalists not to use the term ‘pro-choice’ and instead use ‘abortion-rights’.

Dishonest guidelines

“Replacing the terms “pro-choice” and “pro-abortion” with “abortion-rights” inaccurately implies that women have a right to end the life of the child growing in their womb”, say Virginia Allen and Mary Margaret Olohan writing for the Daily Signal.

“The Associated Press Stylebook’s decision to replace the term ‘pro-life’ with ‘anti-abortion’ is another attempt… to paint the pro-life community in a negative light.”

“The new phrasing is not reflective of the pro-life community that exists today, a community that consists of millions of [people across the world], more than 3,000 pregnancy care centers [in America along], and thousands who give of their time and resources every day to journey with women during and after unplanned pregnancies,” the reporters for the Daily Signal added.

“use anti-abortion rather than pro-life”

The BBC in its own style guide also carries a heavy bias in favour of abortion. It states “Avoid pro-abortion, and use pro-choice instead. Campaigners favour a woman’s right to choose, rather than abortion itself. And use anti-abortion rather than pro-life, except where it is part of the title of a group’s name. Heartbeat bill should be carried in inverted commas, attributed or framed as so-called heartbeat bill.”

Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said “The new style guide from the AP betrays a strong bias in favour of abortion. The pro-abortion bias of the AP is on clear display in this style guide.”

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Dear reader,

Despite the Leadbeater assisted-suicide Bill passing its Third Reading on 20 June, it scraped through by just 23 votes (314-291) after enjoying a 55-vote majority at Second Reading. Had 12 more MPs switched sides, the Bill would be dead. It now limps into the Lords with a wafer-thin majority, where peers can amend, delay or reject it outright.

THE CHALLENGE

Dignity in Dying, My Death My Decision and Humanists UK have poured millions into pushing assisted suicide and will fight hard to stop the Lords overturning the Bill.

At the same time, the Antoniazzi abortion-up-to-birth amendment, passed by MPs in June, also heads to the Lords. If it becomes law, it would no longer be illegal for women to perform their own abortions for any reason – including sex-selective purposes – and at any point up to and during birth.

We will be up against the UK’s largest abortion providers, BPAS and MSI Reproductive Choices (formerly Marie Stopes), who are expected to push for even more extreme changes to our abortion laws in the Lords.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Thousands of vulnerable lives are now at stake. Battling these two threats is the biggest and most expensive effort in our history, and has drained our limited resources. To fight effectively on both fronts, we aim to raise £200,000 by midnight this Sunday (13 July 2025).

Every donation, large or small, will help protect lives, and UK taxpayers can add 25p to every £1 through Gift Aid at no extra cost.

Will you make a donation now to help protect vulnerable lives from these major threats?

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