How about rephrasing that.
How about parking any politically correct nonsense at the door?
... but then brand the baby with a harsh (not to mention archaic) and stigmatizing label.
The only thing harsh and stigmatizing about the word "bastard" are the
personal perceptions you choose to impose on the word. I'm with the late George Carlin on this, words are neutral and any values they may carry are entirely dependent on perceptions rather than reality.
The child in question is a bastard because it was born out of wedlock. The fact that the child is a bastard makes no assumptions regarding the child's worth as a human being. The only people branding the child are those who automatically choose or unconsciously assume that "bastard" somehow equates "bad" or "worthless".