The Biden administration has received a mixed response after replacing the word "mothers" with "birthing people" in the 2022 fiscal year budget.
The Maternal Health Guidance section of the proposed budget, which saw the ground-breaking use of the gender-neutral term, addressed efforts to "reduce maternal mortality rates and end race-based disparities in maternal mortality."
It stresses that people of color suffer the highest maternal mortality rate and that the US as a whole has the highest maternal mortality rate of all developed countries.
The section read:
"The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations, with an unacceptably high mortality rate for Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and other women of color.
"To help end this high rate of maternal mortality and race-based disparities in outcomes among birthing people."
However, the use of the term "birthing people" as an alternative for the word "mothers" did not go down well with some conservative critics.
Heritage Action Executive Director Jessica Anderson tweeted: "Biden's budget would literally erase the word 'mother' and replace it with the woke and watered-down term 'birthing people' in relation to maternal health. Why does Biden want to cancel mothers?"
Another critic wrote: "I earned the right to be called mother, mom, mommy and or mum. Ain’t no one taking that from me ever!!!!"
A third added: "Let’s see: 'birthing person' or mom? I love my birthing person or I love my mom. I’m going to go with mom."
However, others have fully embraced the more inclusive term used to describe those who give birth.
Pro-choice nonprofit NARAL wrote: "When we talk about birthing people, we're being inclusive. It's that simple. We use gender-neutral language when talking about pregnancy, because it's not just cis-gender women that can get pregnant and give birth. Reproductive freedom is for 'every' body."
Another person pointed that "not all women are capable of being birthing people." They added: "It’s a valid demographic."
A third supporter of gender-neutral language wrote: "People have vaginas. Birthing people have vaginas. Women have different genres of genitalia."
Elsewhere in the budget proposal, it is revealed that "more than 200 million US Dollars to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rates nationwide; bolster Maternal Mortality Review Committees; expand the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies program."
