I have to tell you, for every pro life man, when asked about the life of the mother, very few of them will change their minds. Unless it's their mother or wife. For every pro life mother, nearly every single one I know will will make that exception. I think the sex of the debator is extremely relevant.
To the positions the debaters have, it is. But to the debate, finding the right answers to the actual questions, it isn't.
Also, there are few cases where it's a question of the mother terminating the pregnancy or dying. And there are other ways of terminating a pregnancy than killing the baby. Doctors can induce labor, and they can perform C-sections. We don't need to talk about this as if the woman has an abortion or dies.