You say potaytoes, I say potahtoes; You say foetuses, I say babies
Couldn't help noticing the word choice in this article in The Sydney Morning Herald: A matter of life or death for babies. Notably, the use of the word ‘babies’ in an article about whether efforts should be made to keep them alive or not. The word appears seven times in the article! Seven!
I'm so used to reading the words ‘foetus’ or ‘embryo’ in such articles these days. I mean, the word ‘babies’ makes them sound so ... well, human. Almost as if they were valuable little people just beginning their lives, and *not* just meaningless disposable blobs of cellular matter.
The other noticeable thing about this article is that it's about babies born prematurely; i.e. babies that people want to keep rather than babies they don't.
Different words used in different contexts to suit different purposes, but all referring to exactly the same thing: a human being.