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Two topics in one question.
Topic One: Murder vs. Killing. Murder = The unlawful killing of one human by another, especially with premeditated malice. (I looked it up) The key word here is "unlawful". This may vary from country to country, culture to culture, but I think we can all generally agree, that killing sombody for personal or financial gain, or out of anger or retribution, would fit the term "unlawful" and therefore qualify as murder. However, a soldier that kills in the line of duty, is protected by the law, and is not a murderer (regardless if you are FOR or AGAINST the war). Same goes for killing in self defense or defense of another (and in many places, the defense of property). So, in answer to part of the original question, Yes, Murder is very different in "MY" mind than killing.
Topic Two: Abortion (is it murder?) Currently, abortion is protected by law (see Roe v. Wade), and therefore, by defination, is NOT murder. A better question might be, "Should" abortion be classified as murder? Ie. Should the lawfulness of abortion be recinded? That is a very personal question, that the nation is very evenly divided over. At what point does a cluster of cells in a woman's uterous become a "human" and therefore applicable under the above defination. The pro-life folks would say at conception. The pro-choice folks my say not until delivery. My own personal view is, I am against abortion, but I am also against legislation to prevent it. So, I am both pro-life and pro-choice. I know, I am sitting on the fence here, but at the end of the day, I am only accountable for my actions, and therfore must act according to my own value set. I am not going to force my value set on others (at least not through the use of legislation)
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