It is alive but is it 'a life'? To me up to a certain point the foetus is only 'alive' in the sense that it is another part of the living mother. It really depends on what you consider 'life' to be, right? The foetus does not think for itself until a certain point and does not experience pain independently until another. Is it a life if it is not even capable of feeling its death approaching? Let alone understanding what death is? Surely the foetus is simply a part of the mother until it is able to think independently (even in the most basic terms). To me it would be strange to consider the foetus as 'a life' as it is not, at least until a fairly late stage, anything more than a part of the mother. It is part of her 'life' and she can remove it in the same way she might remove a wart.