Steve, I dont think many would agree that the issue of abortion is simply a medical and practical matter.

The creation of life should always be taken seriously.

There is no creation of life any more than there is creation of anything else. Life is a continuum and has been for 3.5 billion years. You see, what you're trying to do here is use fine words to legitimise some notion you espouse. Life on earth may be wonderful but it is also a mundane and commonplace thing. There is nothing about life that is more sacred than anything else that's wonderful about the universe. The biggest of all wasters of life is God. 99.9999% of "created" organisms bite the dust before they see the light of day, and 99.999% of those who do make it struggle with competition, disease, famine and ruthless predation. It's quite clear that God takes life far less seriously than even the worst human being. Stalin and Hitler had nothing on God when it comes to wasting life.

As for abortion, well it's always been with us. The world we live in is still basically one in which men tend to have their wicked way with women. Therefore women, as ever, have needed to shed their unwanted foetuses. There is an anti-abortion movement, led by religion, that is a reaction to this. But the anti-abortion movement (including the Catholic Church) does not want to see a reduction in abortions. If they did, they would espouse the need for free contraception, contraception advice and good education for relationships in schools. But they don't want any of this. A reduction in abortion numbers would emasculate the anti-abortion movement and loosen the grip of the Catholic Church on women. That would never do (if you don't believe me, research the teachings of Mother Teresa, who preached ignorance as a virtue and who will, undoubtedly, soon be sainted). Good education for personal relationships that helps both boys and girls to respect themselves and each other, along with free supply of and free advice on contraception, would reduce the abortion numbers drastically. It's a question of training and funding. That's a practical matter. Leave your bloody "morals" at the door before you come in. They just get in the way.