Hey Joe!

Thanks for a well thought out answer. I guess on the subject of abortion I have no theological position on where a biological growth becomes a tenable life. We could talk about cell replication without aid of the host but that would therefore include malignant tumours. .....

So with regard to abortion, I still maintain I cannot come to a personal stance I would defend, but experience of regulating terminations from a clinical quality and safety aspect does lead to one stance. Where it is permitted, each case is an individual circumstance assessed and duly consented. Here, The Abortion Act 1968 may be a little creaky and some aspects have been amended by more general health acts, but the consent of the patient (to include best interest decisions under The Mental Capacity Act 2005) and the clinical and ethical consent of two doctors independently has served the process for a long time. Politicians move the number of weeks around and they do rely on religious considerations in their deliberations. A good example of my usual cry for using such influence responsibly in the moral interest of all rather than the dogma of the few.

Good luck with your aim to reform from within. As we can see from the rise of fundamentalism in general, old ideas have a heavy kick, and they don't think the kick to be death throes. .....