Thanks for the reply, I think these things need to be discussed in a civilized manner, and not the way the media tends to approach this, by vilifying one side as religious fundamentalists or any other forms of bias.
I completely agree that everyone should have the right to choose what happens to their own body, but at a certain point in regards to pregnancy the choice no longer affects just your body. At a certain point their is another life, and a different genetic code that needs to be considered, and the discussion is basically where that point is. And there seems to be extremist positions on both sides, on one end you have the argument that life begins at contraception and the other side you have people who think that choice can even be made after the baby is born, like the Virginia late term abortion bill. And that is what happens when you follow both arguments to their logical conclusion, either it is a life and should be preserved or it's not and it doesn't matter.
In regards to the framing of the term "pro-choice" it's intellectually dishonest in my opinion, because it's not actually about choice, it does not encompass the other choices like contraception, abstinence, adoption or birth, it's about one choice, to have an abortion. And it's framed this way to normalize it.
As to the biological argument, the fetus is considered life according to science which happens between 7- 9 weeks, that's why most countries around the world allow abortion up to2 to 3 months. The question then is at what stage can the fetus feel pain?
Then as to your question: "do we value the life and personal decisions of a woman enough to let her do it safely?" Yes we should, but not at the expense of another life, if we consider that a life. Just because something has been done for years does not justify it. Also no one is even suggesting that abortion be outlawed and the women go to butches to get abortions, they are delineating a cut off point where they view a life begins, biologically.
The question should be, when is the fetus or baby considered a life?