The consequence is that we open up some space around our misfiring intuitions so that we have the leeway to choose a path of lesser harm, and to accept that others may take the path of greater liberty.

It's true that liberals have trouble understanding the idea of the sacred; this is well documented in The Righteous Mind (Haidt, 2013). But conservatives' moral foundations do not present themselves without internal conflicts. Indeed, adding the idea of the sacred just provokes more opportunities for conflict.

In this case, the sacred can conflict with what is better and what is freer. "I force the creation of this child into a likely life of poverty and neglect, while harming the child's siblings and further taxing the already-taxed parent(s), against the parent(s) will" is not a very good recommendation for embracing the sacred.

There are powerful moral arguments that society should treat people as sacred. But there are powerful scientific arguments that a six-week-old embryo is not a person in any meaningful sense.

You can preserve all three by admitting that the onset of the sacredness is more gradual than you would like, and not go out of your way to personify a situation where there isn't functionally a person. The life of a person stays sacred. The harm caused by an immense decades-long burden that is not wished is avoided. And we give freedom to people do order their lives as they wish without interference.

In other cases, liberals' consistent neglect of the sacred can cause problems (but note, they have it too--just applied more selectively and with less strength; for instance, they often view the environment as sacred). Here, I'm not convinced.

Potential is just potential. We can bond emotionally without pretending something is real that is not. If we can be sad when Simba's father dies--a pretend lion for crying out loud--we've got this. "Hey, little clump of cells with primitive circulation--develop fast and well! Grow up big and turn into a person! I so want to meet you! I'll try to give you the best life I can!"