OzSpen,

Your interpretation of that passage in Exodus is contrary to how the rabbis have always interpreted it: If a man injures a pregnant woman so that she miscarries, he has to pay damages, but if the woman dies as well, "the penalty shall be life for life". Similarly in Jewish law, the execution of a pregnant woman was not delayed unless she was actually in the process of giving birth.

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-fetus-in-jewish-law/

There was a division of opinion among the early Christians. Some believed that ensoulment (personhood) took place at the moment of conception but others, such as St. Augustine, not until later in the pregnancy. This second group would have said that early abortion was still wrong, but for reasons to do with Christian theology and because (at the time) it was so dangerous for the woman, but not because it was tantamount to murder. References in

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Christian_thought_on_abortion

OzSpen

Reality has it, we live in a secular society. A reality which many consider as not a choice.

It’s fundamental value is separation of Church and State. Not necessarily an ignorance of Church by the State.

Now that position gives you the right to your religious views, and every right also to express them publicly, and to live your life by, in your case, your Christian values.

I’m sure you are wholly aware of that fundamental position of Secular Society.
I don’t believe you are Robinson Crusoe having difficulty accepting its average morality, but to be Democratic you must accept a mix of ideas, (inclusive of your own), which settle out from its overall mix of standards.

Dan

One of the ironies of this outcome is the fact that Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas - a black man - is married to a white woman.

The Supreme Court did not make interracial marriage legal in all US States until 1967 so he has been the direct beneficiary of being granted certain personal rights yet he has removed rights from others and intends to challenge same-sex marriage in the future.

Another complication is that the question of when life begins has not been defined. If it is at the instant of conception then all failed fetuses during the invitro process would become illegal abortions and put people under potential legal threat. Likewise the onus of proving innocence would be placed on women who miscarry during pregnancy.

Above all, the religious aspect argument is irrelevant because it can be twisted to mean anything. It's a moral argument but also has political roots.

The rallying of the abortion stance was a deliberate political ploy by the Southern Baptists against Jimmy Carter who was threatening to remove certain tax exemptions from their colleges. Before then the general view was pro-choice.