motherhood statement

Definition

A vague, feel-good platitude, especially one made by a politician, that most people would agree with.

Etymology

Probably from the fact that virtually everyone would say that motherhood is a positive thing.

Example Sentences

• "[A]n objective needs to be followed up by some specific form of measurement or it is meaningless – It is a motherhood statement."
• "Technology transfer and the principle of making useful research and development information available to all public sectors is now being endorsed by everybody. I really don't know anybody who objects. As a matter of fact, by now it has become a motherhood statement. The question is, how do we achieve the blessed state of motherhood?"
• "When English judges speak of rights they often do so in terms that are usually imprecise and lacking in clear principle. The problem is worsened by the frequent judicial recourse to motherhood statements, which are not simply imprecise but provide generalised statements that are difficult to disagree with at a conceptual level. […] [M]otherhood statements assume or imply the existence of what [Martin] Loughlin described as an 'imaginary consensus' on important doctrinal principles."