To call the unborn a child may make some people uncomfortable, and some may choose to take offense over this, but it is probably the best and most accurate term you can generally use.
While many people think that the use of terms like ‘fetus’ or ‘embryo’ are more accurate than calling the unborn a child or a baby, the use of these terms creates immediate semantic issues, being both imprecise and grammatically awkward as they refer to specific stages of gestation and development, not the unborn in general.(1)
Imagine for example if I used the term ‘adolescent’ to refer to a group of humans ranging in age from birth to adulthood. The use of such a precise word actually creates inaccuracy and confusion, which I think is hopefully the opposite of what is intended here.
Indeed, in regard to abortion the usage of terms like ‘fetus’ probably wrongly describe the gestational age of the unborn a majority of the time. More than two-thirds of all abortions are preformed before the fetal stage of gestation, so when discussing abortion calling the unborn a fetus is probably too specific.(2)
The term ‘child’ however is much more broad. Definitions of the word include both born and unborn persons at any stage of gestation, or simply refer to young humans below the age of puberty or legal majority, or a son or daughter of human parents. By almost any definition of the word it is correct to call the unborn ‘children,’ and such a label is far more accurate in general than calling them a fetus.(3)
This is why many academic texts about abortion use terms like ‘unborn child’ to describe the being present at all stages of gestation from conception to birth. Terms like ‘fetus’ are generally reserved for when their use needs to reflect the actual definition of the term, referring to the unborn at a specific stage of development for clarity and accuracy.
So, simply by hard definition, it would seem that calling the unborn being a ‘child’ is the best way to go about things honestly and factually.
Something else we need to consider however is the colloquial use of these terms, because the usage of language doesn’t always follow strict definitional meanings. Thanks in large part to pro-choice advocates, the use of the term ‘fetus’ to refer to the unborn at all stages of gestation has become common and accepted in many situations.
We can see however that when it comes to almost any topic of discussion outside of abortion, we colloquially tend to refer to the unborn as a child or a baby. I don’t think many women say “I can feel the fetus kicking” for example, they say they can feel the baby kicking. We don’t say that someone who is pregnant is carrying a fetus, we say she’s carrying a child. In informal conversation, these terms are far more natural than calling the unborn a fetus or an embryo.
For the most part, it is only in the context of abortion that we casually refer to the unborn as a fetus. This is probably because quite a few people seem to find it easier to deal with abortion if they don’t think about the unborn being as a child. The usage of terms like ‘fetus’ help dehumanize the unborn and make the issue more palatable to a lot of people who otherwise might have some misgivings about the idea of ending a child’s life.
Because of this, it can make a lot of people who have had abortions or support abortion uncomfortable to use a term like child to refer to the unborn. Some may even take offense, or feel disrespected by the use of the word ‘child’ to refer to the unborn child.
We can’t control whether people choose to take offense over this, but I do know that if you respect someone you should be honest with them. Lying in order to try to make someone feel better about something rarely ends well.
Purposefully using inaccurate terminology to avoid uncomfortable realities is neither honest or respectful, and that to me seems far more offensive than calling a child a child.
Sources
- Fetus NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms. Undated online entry; accessed October 16, 2026. Related definition: Embryo
- Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2016 MMWR Surveillance Summaries. November 29, 2019; 68(No. SS-11):1–41. Tables 7 and 9 cover selected U.S. reporting areas. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6811a1. Published correction (December 4, 2020)
- Child Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Entry undated; examples updated October 14, 2026. Accessed October 16, 2026.
