Mexican physician María Denisse Santos of the Coalición de Líderes Provida told CNA that "to say that we are 'pro life' is to tell the truth, because we are indeed defending the right to live of the little ones. To try to hide that truth by calling us 'anti-abortion,' as CNN en Español did with Sister Byrne's speech, is in fact to recognize that they are afraid to acknowledge that being 'pro-choice' is to be in favor of someone's death."
"But the truth will shine at the end, that we are pro-life and pro-eternal life," Santos said.
One professional translator, who requested anonymity because of her position, told CNA that "it is very hard to believe that the interpreter chose to change 'pro-life' to 'anti-aborto' on her own. In our trade, we have some room to choose specific words in order to better clarify a concept, but we can't make any kind of subjective interpretation. So much so that our interpretations are trademarked. The only reason why an interpreter would do something like that is if she or he is under a very specific protocol from the customer (client), like someone who works, say, for the UN, and needs to avoid some words for political or diplomatic reasons."
The code of ethics for the American Translators Association explains that "linguistic integrity is at the core of what translators and interpreters do."
Translators faced with an idiomatic expression should use "an idiom that conveys the same meaning, register, and impact" as the one being translated, the association explains. It emphasizes that "Impartial translation and interpreting requires the translator or interpreter to adopt a mantle of neutrality," and calls it "inappropriate to "clean up" objectionable language in the target language."
The "Translator's Charter" of the International Federation of Translators requires that "every translation...be faithful and render exactly the idea and form of the original." CNN en Español has not responded to requests for comment from CNA.
Polling shows that while Latino voters favor Biden over Trump, the president has the support of a larger share of Latino Catholic voters than he did in 2016. The Trump reelection campaign has emphasized its view that Trump is the "most pro-life president in history" in outreach to religious voters.
Aci Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language sister agency, contributed to this report.