Is this yet an element you're addressing in your great presentation of conservative mores?
Not separately. It is currently an adjunct to the discussion of abortion. I may redraft that one because of the need to generalize the issue into one of general life and death, but I am depending upon feedback to determine if the approaches I am taking are effective.
Consider this turn of phrase:
That commonality broadens the issue of state regulation of abortion to one of medical manipulation of the entire human life cycle. It makes compassion, self-discipline, and clarity in political discussion critical to rationalizing public moral values into productive solutions. Further, combining these life and death issues not only redirects the question of abortion to the context in which it belongs, it broadens the number of interest groups who suddenly realize that they too have a stake in issues of life and death beyond mere sexual convenience.
So when conservatives candidates for public office are confronted with questions on abortion, perhaps they should redirect the question of abortion into one of developing decision processes for artificial manipulation of life and death in general.
Public discussion of any proposal concerning taking human life necessarily involves a question of moral leadership, and is certainly a legitimate consideration when evaluating a political candidate. It is an appropriate venue for debate usefully indicative of the balance among thoughtful maturity, mastery of the technical issues, creative intelligence, and respect for Constitutional principle to be demanded of a candidate for any public office. It certainly beats getting entrapped into counterproductive political posturing over abortion.