. . . This is a hard issue for journalists who want to be fair to partisans on both sides of the issue. Perhaps this small but symbolic action is, somehow, linked to the Peterson case. Perhaps it is linked to the growing use 4D ultrasound technology.

Then again, perhaps it is a concession to reality, to the words that people use in real life. This is not politics. It is a matter of simple humanity. Faced with this kind of tragedy, loved ones and public servants do not tell journalists "we lost a fetus."

No, they lost the baby. They lost a child, an "unborn child." It is awkward or even cruel to say anything else.