St. Augustine's beliefs were heavily influenced by pagan Greek thought which recognized vegetative, animal and human souls. It was believed, probably form the appearance of aborted fetuses at different stages of gestation that an embryo underwent existence in different natures, vegetative, animal and finally human.
The ancients assigned 40 days for males and 90 days for females to "reach" the human stage, so they naturally didn't see abortion per say as killing a human being if it was done before 40/90 days.
This belief continued throughout the early and middle Church periods, with popes echoing Augustinian position on this. It was outlawed for the first time by a pope in the 14th century, only to be reversed a century later, and once again outlawed for good in the 17th century.
It is also important to remind ourselves that at that time, the Catholic dogma of Immaculate Conception was not proclaimed, and that not all Catholics believed it.
Pelosi & Co. is correct that the Church, holding on to pagan Greek science, believed abortions were not murder before 40/90 days (although the Eastern Church never accepted that thinking and never condoned abortion).
However, the Church in the West proclaimed the dogma of Immaculate Conception in the middle of the 19th century and Pelosi, as well as all other Catholics are required to believe it.
And the dogma says that Mary was full of grace at the conception. Obviously that doesn't happen to vegetables. The only way she could full of grace at the conception if she had a human soul.
What happened in the past was simply reflecting the Church philosophy based on incomplete science and lack of dogma regarding the issue. It was ignorance and intention and Pelosi cannot use it as as justification. Moreover, as a Catholic she cannot believe in abortion and IC at the same time.
ignorance and intention = should read “ ignorance and NOT intention”
Neither did the Western Church.
I think you are mixing up two things that the Eastern Church correctly linked, but the West did not. The Western Church has always condemned abortion. The issue is that the Western Church did not always phrase abortion as murder, yet nonetheless condemned abortion.