[Grey Ghost II]

This is hardly a license to abort.

I never said that St. Thomas in any way condoned abortion. I just said he was mistaken on when life begins.

[gbcdoj]

Well what you said was "St. Thomas denied that life begins at conception. Do you therefore think early 1st trimester abortions are ok?" - as if the second conclusion followed from the first. Thomas thought that life did begin at conception, just that the rational soul wasn't infused until later. This is still an acceptable position - indeed, the CDF Declaration on Procured Abortion notes that:

This declaration expressly leaves aside the question of the moment when the spiritual soul is infused. There is not a unanimous tradition on this point and authors are as yet in disagreement ... supposing a belated animation, there is still nothing less than a human life, preparing for and calling for a soul in which the nature received from parents is completed ...