As I understand what Bruce is saying, he's not necessarily defending that position, but pointing out that many people do NOT make a distinction between abortion and murder, just as many fundamentalist Moslems see blasphemy against Mohammed as worse than murder. If you are to have respect mutual with somebody of different beliefs, whatever these are about, there must be some point of contact.

One problem in America (as I see it - I'm British), which I think works in a closed loop with the death penalty, is that the whole debate is not about the point during development when the soul enters the body, but about ideas of guilt and innocence. So you get (to outsiders) crazy statements like "if he's old enough to kill a man, he's old enough to die for it!" In this context the foetus, whether it be full- term or a small ball of cells, is seen as an innocent child, and there's no room for any shades of meaning.

So you get false comparisons between women who have abortions and Nazis (nobody is trying to make the world kinderrein), or Salman Rushdie is called a murderer because people died in the riots against him.

In terms of Moslems, I would like to see them play a much greater role in the life of this country- in return for assurance that they desire to be one of the threads that make up the country, and do not seek hegemony (which they haven't a chance of anyway, but an attempt would be devastating). As for those against abortion, they can fulminate all they like, but if they want to be constructive, support of contraception, health care and welfare would be a start.