Speaking about the preborn. How specific terms used in the abortion debate reflect attitudes and (de)mentalization

•Preference to use the term “fetus” vs. “(unborn) child” reveals abortion attitudes.•These differences reflect deeper processes of (de)mentalization of the preborn.•Linguistic preferences reflect attitudes regardless of religiosity and conservatism.

According to the Whorfian approach, language reflects and shapes cognitive processes, as well as attitudes. In this article, we analyze how people's preference to use one of the two terms used in the abortion discourse: “fetus” and “unborn child” can reveal their attitudes toward abortion and reflect deeper processes of (de)mentalization of the preborn. Study 1, which utilized a convenience sample of Polish internet users (N = 102), showed that people who used anthropomorphizing language opposed elective abortion more firmly than those using dementalizing language. The opposition to abortion among people using anthropomorphizing language could not be attributed to their religiosity, nor to their conservatism. Study 2, conducted with a more diverse sample of adult Poles recruited through an on-line research panel (N = 248), found that these differences were mediated by the emotionality ascribed to the preborn. Both studies provide evidence for the role of specific terms as reflections of deeper attitudes about the ontological nature of certain beings.