Say The Word: Why The Term ‘Woman’ Remains Vital In Women’s Healthcare

It is a testament to the rampant wildfire that is political correctness: “International Non-Binary People’s Day.” Yes, that is a thing. Since 2012, this day lands on the “PC calendar” as July 14th. 

As a medical professional, I must point out an obvious, if inconvenient, conflict: Human beings are sexually dimorphic — biologically male or female — with rare genetic or anatomic conditions being an exception (e.g., Swyer Syndrome, Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome). By elevating subjective feelings on gender above objective sex differences, this day reflects the broader cultural shift that values political correctness over biological facts.

Plus, through this PC lens, girls who are gender-nonconforming are encouraged to identify as non-binary or male; they are told that their personality is incompatible with being female. That is wrong. In an attempt to expand “inclusion,” we are slowly erasing womanhood. This is evident most in the propagation of gender-neutral language that has gotten out of hand. 

As a board-certified OB/GYN physician, I am, by definition, a women’s healthcare specialist. Read that again, slowly: women’s healthcare specialist. 

More importantly, I am the father of two intelligent, compassionate, and talented young women. Notice I didn’t say “menstruating people,” “people with a uterus,” or any other fashionable euphemisms. 

And in that pursuit, medicine — the field entrusted with science, truth, and care — is making a critical, potentially devastating mistake: erasing women. 

Gender-neutral language has become trendy in media, education, public policy, and now in medicine. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), for example, states it “will move beyond the exclusive use of gendered language and definitions.” The American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) offers similar guidance.

Ironically, when language avoids or replaces the word “woman,” especially in contexts centered on women’s lived experiences — pregnancy, motherhood, menstruation — it ceases to be inclusive. It becomes erasure.

This is biologically inaccurate, linguistically confusing, and ethically wrong. It must stop.

Terms like “pregnant people,”  “birthing people”, “menstruators,” and “chestfeeders” are billed as inclusive. But they send a quieter, more harmful message: that “woman” is a word too controversial or exclusive to use.

This reframes womanhood as something to dilute in order to accommodate others — when in reality, specificity and inclusion are not mutually exclusive.

This matters not just symbolically, but materially. Women’s health has long been under-researched and underfunded. When language becomes so neutral that it no longer identifies women as the primary subjects of reproductive care, advocacy efforts lose their power.

If it’s now politically incorrect to say “maternal mortality disproportionately affects Black women,” and we must instead say “birthing people,” we obscure the social and biological realities that demand urgent attention. Precision in language is not exclusion. It is clarity.

Ironically, this expansion of gender-neutral language is profoundly anti-woman. A movement that can’t say the word “woman” cannot fully fight for women. 

Think this is just one disgruntled OB/GYN’s opinion? Think again. 

J.K. Rowling — a woman and lifelong advocate for women’s rights — was globally vilified for opposing terms like “people who menstruate.”

And just this month (June 2025), a peer-reviewed paper in Sexual and Reproductive Health warned that “desexed” language is confusing, alienating, and potentially harmful — even to the very populations it intends to help. As those authors write:

Desexed language is likely to have an adverse impact on people with low health literacy and language skills, risk alienation, and cause confusion… It may even cause harm to transgender and gender-diverse people who also need clear health communications.

Similar sentiment has been stated by Reem Alsalem, a Jordanian independent consultant and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls. Alsalem stated:

Erasing women and women-specific language and needs based on their sex is not only wrong, but also demeaning, regressive and constitutes one of the worst forms of violence that women and girls can experience.

Even the U.S. government recently declared: “It is the policy of the United States to use clear and accurate language that recognizes women are biologically female and men are biologically male.”

Similarly, my home state of Texas recently passed legislation that defines man and woman based on biological reality. This is not “anti-trans.” It is pro-woman. Pro-girl. Pro-truth.

Yes, there is fresh momentum on protecting women and women’s rights. This is good news. On July 1, 2025, for example, the University of Pennsylvania — which was found in violation of Title IX regulations — agreed to restrict trans athletes from participating in women’s sports. That is a win for women’s sports everywhere.

In the effort to include everyone, let’s not lose sight of the people who fought longest and hardest to be heard: women.

Say the word. Use the word. Because avoiding it doesn’t create justice — it creates silence. And silence has never been a friend to women.

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Hector Chapa, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., is a nationally and internationally recognized physician scientist in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is a graduate of UT Southwestern Medical School with specialty training at Parkland Hospital. He is a Board-Certified Obstetrician & Gynecologist and serves as clinical associate professor at Texas A&M College of Medicine in Bryan-College Station, Texas. Since 2016, he has served as the OBGYN Clerkship Director (BCS Campus). In 2018, he became director of interprofessional education.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.