"Aquinas suggested that no life exist until thew end of the first trimester. I am sure that somewhere between these two dates, there might be a cross over date everyone can agree on."
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Zeev...
You have touched a nerve with me on that one. While I am generally against abortion (especially once the fetus is fully formed), I have often had my doubts about the accepted biblical interpretation on the subject. While the biblical references are convincing at first glance, they are not as specific as they appear and leave room for some questions.
I see nothing that demands that all fetuses are endowed with a soul, even though some apparently are (the fetus of John the Baptist was said to have lept in his mother's womb when he heard Mary's voice). What is not precluded is that God, in his infinite foreknowledge, obviously knows which fetus will be born alive and which will not and that would suggest the possibility that those which He knows will die before birth are not ensouled. The same argument could be used for cloning, i.e. that clones would not be endowed with a soul and thus could not survive (serious speculation there).
If that thesis were correct, it would answer the quandary of saving the unborn child or the mother, as does the judaic tradition. I have no clue which is the correct answer so I go with the conservative answer that all abortion is wrong as that well could be God's intent. Most certainly, partial birth abortion is always wrong.
Sometimes more questions than answers.
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