Indeed, freedom and life are two of our most cherished values, and here they seem to be in fundamental conflict. Let's consider these two absolutist positions in turn. A newborn baby is surely the same being it was just before birth. It can suck its thumb or do a somersault. Occasionally, it generates adult brain-wave patterns.
Some people claim to remember being born, or even the uterine environment.
Perhaps there is thought in the womb. It's hard to maintain that a transformation to full personhood happens abruptly at the moment of birth. We believe that many supporters of reproductive freedom are troubled at least occasionally by this question. But they are reluctant to raise it because it is the beginning of a slippery slope. And yet, by consensus, all of us think it proper that there be prohibitions against, and penalties exacted for, murder.