THE OMBUDSMAN
Fetus or baby?

By Christine Chinlund, 2/17/2003 Boston Globe

THE GLOBE WAS technically correct when it referred to the youngest shooting victim in the Feb. 5 MBTA Orange Line tragedy as a ''fetus.'' But sometimes you can be technically correct and wrong at the same time.This was one of those times.

The facts: On the night of Feb. 5, Hawa Adama Barry, in the ninth month of pregnancy, was shot in the abdomen during a stand-off between two groups of young men on the T.

Early reports from authorities suggested that the baby died in the womb. Thus, the Globe's headline the next day read: ''Passenger shot, her fetus dies as men clash on T.'' Other media outlets had similar accounts but used ''unborn baby'' rather than ''fetus.''

Readers were quick to object to ''fetus.'' A few echoed the abortion-related debate about when life begins, but most argued that the use of such a clinical word to describe an almost full-term baby made the Globe look silly and insensitive.

''I thought it truly dehumanized the tragic murder, especially for the mother but also for those who have children and recognize that a parent refers to a baby weeks from birth as just that -- a baby,'' wrote one reader who, with his wife, had suffered lost pregnancies. ''This has nothing to do with the abortion debate -- though I can hear the `prolife' people now. It has everything to do with the death of a child.''

Kerri Bean from Milton called to say the Globe's word choice so ''horrified'' several of her friends that they wanted to cancel the paper. ''This is not a matter of being prochoice or not,'' she said. ''It's a matter of being a mother.''

Wrote another subscriber: ''Those criminals on the train committed murder, not abortion'' -- and indeed several readers pointed out that police hope to bring murder charges against the shooter. Yet another reader, noting that ''Every other news channel, TV, and newspaper called it a baby,'' demanded to know how the Globe came to use ''fetus.'' He added: ''I'm sure there's some sort of angle here.''

Several readers suggested what that angle might be. Wasn't this, they asked, a not-so-subtle attempt by the liberal Globe (whose editorial page supports abortion rights) to make the point that life doesn't begin until birth?

While I agree with critics who say ''fetus'' was not the best word choice for this story, I don't agree its use had anything to do with political correctness or the abortion debate. Some pretty impartial sources, from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to Webster's Dictionary, say that any unborn child is considered a fetus. The US Supreme Court has said so, too. The Globe had plenty of reason to use the word other than to please abortion rights activists or make a political statement on behalf of abortion rights.

So how was the decision to use ''fetus'' made?

The night of the shooting, night desk staffers -- who didn't receive the story until after midnight -- debated the word choice question. There were clear arguments on both sides, says Night Editor David Jrolf. Finally, as third edition deadline loomed, he telephoned Michael Larkin, deputy managing editor for news operations, at home. Larkin ruled in favor of ''fetus,'' and the paper went to press.

The next day -- as newsroom discussion continued -- the issue was made moot by new information: The baby had been delivered in the hospital and had lived a short time. Thus, he died as a newborn. Globe stories thereafter switched from ''fetus'' to ''baby'' (further confusing some readers).

Larkin says be believed ''fetus'' was the correct word for the first-day story because Webster's definition clearly fit: ''An unborn offspring, especially in its later stages and specifically in humans, from about the eighth week after conception until birth.''

Case closed? Maybe not. The Globe's editor thinks the matter merits more discussion.

''I think we should discuss this internally when editors are not forced to make snap judgments on deadline,'' says Editor Martin Baron. ''The terms `fetus' and `unborn child' have become highly charged elements in the abortion debate. I suspect we can convey the same facts without wading into that debate. Language like `the child the woman was bearing,' for example, might have achieved that.''

Such a phrase would have worked well. So, too, would ''unborn baby'' -- a phrase that has been appropriated by the abortion debate but that can and should be reclaimed for use when it best describes the reality. This story qualifies.

The T shooting story was about a life that ended just as it was to begin, and a mother's pain. It was not a legal brief, nor an article about Roe v. Wade -- stories where legally and medically precise language is essential.

It was the kind of story where the usual rules, however well-intentioned, just didn't fit. License with the language was not only allowed, but required.

The ombudsman represents the readers. Her opinions and conclusions are her own. Phone 617-929-3020 or, to leave a message, 929-3022. Our e-mail
address is ombud@globe.com.