Abortion: 10 years as an atheist and I still don't get it

[Alan V]

So please explain to me why abortion is morally acceptable or what I might be missing.

Most women who have abortions have children at other times, children they may not have had if they had not aborted the earlier fetus. In other words, many women who have abortions are pregnant in the wrong circumstances for them to take care of a child. You can't judge such cases in isolation.

But the real issue is awareness. We are morally obligated to minimize suffering, but fetuses are typically not developed enough to feel pain. Life itself is trivial without consciousness, which is why we don't feel much compunction about cutting down trees and killing bugs.