Viable means able to work successfully or able to live and develop. It can describe plans that are realistic or living things that can survive.
From French 'viable', meaning 'capable of life', from 'vie' meaning 'life', based on Latin 'vita'. English extended the meaning from living organisms to ideas and projects.
Calling a plan ‘viable’ is like saying it’s alive enough to make it in the real world. The word quietly borrows the language of biology for business and problem-solving. It suggests that ideas, like creatures, can either survive their environment—or not.
“Viable” is neutral in general use, but in reproductive and medical contexts it has been used in debates about fetal viability and abortion, often in ways that override pregnant people’s autonomy. Historically, legal standards of ‘viability’ were defined largely by male-dominated medical and legal institutions.
Use “viable” carefully in reproductive contexts, centering the pregnant person’s health, rights, and choices rather than treating viability as the only moral or legal criterion.
["workable","feasible","practicable","clinically sustainable (context-specific)"]
When discussing viability in reproductive health, highlight the expertise and advocacy of women clinicians, researchers, and patients who have pushed for more person-centered care.
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