Despite our inability to agree on when life begins, wouldn't a moral society err to the side of protecting life from the earliest possible moment that it exists?
Yes, but we have to come to some sort of an agreement as to the moment life begins. I am inclined to believe that it starts when consciousness begins, evidence of self awareness and the ability to respond to external stimuli or pain. Historically this is in line with the idea of the "quickening" that our ancestor believed in, a belief that was written into English common law.
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence". John Adams
"A dishonest man can always be trusted to be dishonest". Captain Jack Sparrow
