I think what we are failing to recognize is that the abortion debate is simply another step in what has been an eternal question throughout human history: of all forms of human life (all life forms which have are based on human genetic material), who are "we" and who are "they"?
The "we" are the members of our group to whom under our laws and customs we give full legal protection. The "they" are all other forms of human life, who are not fully (and often not at all) protected by our laws and customs.
At various times and in various cultures, virtually every human group has been both a "we" and a "they." But in the traditional recorded history of western civilization, white males have most consistently, though not universally, been "we"s, and other groups have fought to move from "they" to "we" status. Women, blacks, Native Americans, jews, are only the most prominent of the groups which at one time or another were outside the full protection of the laws but have now, at least facially, moved under the full protection of the laws.
Our society, having pretty much decided the issue for race and gender (although not totally; there are still racist and sexist groups on both sides of those spectrums), is now turning its attention to the ends of the age spectrum -- the very young and the very old. Abortion and euthanasia. The controversy is so emotional largely because it does deal with the basic questions of what is a human being, what is human life, what forms of human genetic material deserve which protections of our laws, etc.
My personal opinion is that just as we look back now appalled at our the way our ancestors treated blacks, our grandchildren will look back appalled at the way we treat our youngest and oldest people. As we ask "why wasn't it obvious to them that black Africans were people deserving full civil rights?" they will look back at us and ask "why wasn't it obvious to them that their babies in the womb were already people deserving full civil rights?"
But just as it took a long time to give other "theys" their civil rights, it will take a long time to give them to the unborn.
An aside: some people like to talk in terms of embryos and fetuses and such. But I never heard any pregnant woman say "I'm having an embryo" or "I'm pregnant with a fetus" or "I'm with a bunch of cells." They are having a baby, or are with child. There is simple truth in simple language. (Note: some cultures consider children to be one year old when they are born. Again, a simple recognition of reality.)
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