Abigail Anthony reported on the Associated Press Stylebook’s “Topical Guide” for transgender coverage, which included this advice: “aim to use the phrase ‘pregnant women’ only when it’s known everyone the term applies to identifies as a woman.”
The Associated Press has since softened this, announcing:
Pregnant women or women seeking abortions is acceptable phrasing. Phrasing like pregnant people or people seeking abortions is also acceptable to include people who have those experiences but do not identify as women, such as some transgender men and some nonbinary people.
Use judgment and decide what is most appropriate in a given story. Neutral alternatives like abortion patients are also acceptable, but do not use overly clinical language like people with uteruses or birthing people.
Evidently, the AP would rather individual journalists take on the burden of deciding which terms to use. Consider how ridiculous it is, though, to state “pregnant women or women seeking abortions is acceptable phrasing.” How could it be anything else?