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Then I'm surprised...
by GeneralDisarray

you'd need to ask.

If you think about the situations in which "abortionist" is used, and it's connotations, the pejorative qualities should be obvious. If that was intentional, as an appeal to persons who prefer terms like "abortionist" to describe physicians who perform abortions, I think it's misguided (though that's not the question you asked), which is why I suggested you read Lakoff.

Terms that describe occupations tend to be objectifying, which makes the associated connotations more potent. I'm having a hard time coming up with one that has more uniformly negative connotations than "abortionist". Maybe "vivesectionist"?

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