They will become humans, does that not shock that they are being murdered.
Well, if you're going to go down this path, I won't say you're necessarily wrong but you certainly won't come up with any satisfactory answer. Also, in order to remain consistent, you may have to bite the bullet and employ some pretty Draconian (e.g. traditional Roman Catholic) values. It's for the purposes of legal consideration that we establish these arbitrary guidelines.
Speaking of which, I hear that the state of Victoria (Australia) looks fairly set (pending a conscience vote) to decriminalise abortion. Furthermore, the specifics is that it is entirely legal up to 24 weeks and in the cases of late-term pregnancy, pending a consultation, opinion and recommendation of two doctors.
I think this is a good guideline and I am confident that it is derived from reports based on rigorous evidence. All things considered and in the absence of other definitive criteria (I do not believe "a fertilised zygote must be considered a human" is an acceptable premise), I've based my assessment on the criteria for neurological function especially capacity for sensation and perception- or pain and suffering respectively.
More specifically, the accepted evidence suggests that animals cannot feel pain until their neural networks have been connected and activated. For this to happen, the nerves have to be formed, then sprout and eventually reach their destination, which does not happen before 26 weeks. Furthermore, an abortion past this stage poses a significantly greater risk to the woman unless in case of medical emergency.
...all this said I certainly won't deny that the partial-birth surgical procedures generally done after 12 weeks are gross and disturbing, and can understand why one might want to call it murder. But I simply can't uphold that judgment when I'm being rigorous.
