How stupid. Once a woman knows she's pregnant, it's a baby. Nobody is going to do an abortion on a woman who doesn't think she's pregnant.
Allowing an abortion up to the 40th day is knowingly committing murder. The church was WRONG on that one.
With the benefit of modern technologies, sure. But back then? No.
Do you think the 40 days was chosen at random?
When the women knew they were pregnant, they would not be permitted to have an abortion. This is why 40 days was chosen, not to permit abortion, but as a ‘best guess’ as to when life began.
When the ovum was discovered, the response of the Church was to confirm that conception was the point at which human life began and has been this way ever since.