See, you are falling into that trap again. If that is all the definition means, then Michael Moore is correct when he labels the killing of innocent Iraqis as "murder" because he sees it as unjustifiable as well. But he's not correct and people who apply the label "murder" to abortion are not correct either. Here's the American Heritage definition: "The unlawful killing of one human by another, especially with premeditated malice." Notice the "unlawful" bit. What law does an abortion break? And yes, it is a legal construct. If you call someone a murderer and they have not been convicted of such or you do not use the "alleged" caveat, then you can be sued for libel or slander, whichever is appropriate. It is a specific legal term.
Use it if you want though, but don't base your argument on it. You can't say "abortion is murder therefore it is evil." A better path would be to explain why it is evil since it is unfortunately very much legal in this country -- something both Bush and Rice would like to see changed.
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constituiton.
We have a lawless judiciary, and a successive string of Executives without the courage to challenge the myth of judicial supremacy, and thousands of successive legislators who are spineless.
God's Law.
"Thou shall not commit murder."
Okay. Let me see if I can answer this.
First, I understand your point that "murder", defined as an immoral killing, can be misused. And my response to this is, "So what?" Howard Dean calls Republicans evil, and I don't see anyone telling us to stop using the word because Dean misused it. Michael Moore and Dean are not correct, because their statements are untrue. That they think they are correct does not make them so. I would not throw out "murder" because Moore uses it wrongly any more than I will throw out "evil" because Dean uses it wrongly.
As for what law abortion breaks: no American law. But it does break God's law, which states, "You shall not murder." American law will be abolished eventually. But God's law is eternal, and it matters more than any law a nation can come up with.
I realize that "murder" is a legal term, but I don't agree that using it in a moral sense is incorrect.