Follow-up to Abortion CM Class

I received a follow-up question this past Sunday in Post-Confirmation CM class regarding something that was briefly touched upon during Jean Young's all high school class on 3/15. The question I received which hopefully I paraphrased correctly was:

One thing that Jean said was that the only legal (morally) form of abortion is when the mother's life is in danger. Could you talk more about that?

Because Jean is much wiser than I am, I decided to punt to her =). Here's her response:

First of all, there is a difference between legal vs moral. Abortion is currently legal but it is never moral. The Catholic Church does however permit what is called an indirect abortion. A direct abortion is a direct killing of the embryo/fetus and it is considered as a means in itself or as a means to an end. It is a willful attack on human life and is gravely wrong. An indirect abortion is the unintended killing of an embryo/fetus. It is the evacuation of a fetus which cannot survive outside the womb and the death of the fetus is not the intended or directly willed result but rather a secondary side effect.

For example, if a mother has cervical cancer and the uterus with a baby in it has to be removed or it will kill the mother, the procedure is allowed because there was no intention to harm the baby. The intention was to remove the organ in order to save a woman's life. Another example is if the embryo implanted in the mother's fallopian tube instead of the uterus and would result in the death of the mother, the fallopian tube can be removed. The removal of the tube does result in the death of the fetus but it happened indirectly. The death of the fetus was not the primary intention of the procedure.

Pope Pius XII summarizes the concept of an indirect abortion saying:

"Deliberately we have always used the expression 'direct attempt on the life of an innocent person,' 'direct killing.' Because if, for example, the saving of the life of the future mother, independently of her pregnant condition, should urgently require a surgical act or other therapeutic treatment which would have as an accessory consequence, in no way desired or intended, but inevitable, the death of the fetus, such an act could no longer be called a direct attempt on an innocent life. Under these conditions the operation can be lawful, like other similar medical interventions granted always that a good of high worth is concerned, such as life, and that it is not possible to postpone the operation until after the birth of the child, nor to have recourse to other efficacious remedies."

Having said all of this, it is also very important to note that the Catholic Church does not teach that the mother's life is more valuable than a baby's life. Ideally, everything should be done to preserve both the life of the mother and the child. Pope Pius XII makes this point clear when he states:

"Never and in no case has the Church taught that the life of the child must be preferred to that of the mother. It is erroneous to put the question with this alternative: either the life of the child or that of the mother. No, neither the life of the mother nor that of the child can be subjected to an act of direct suppression. In the one case as in the other, there can be but one obligation: to make every effort to save the lives of both, of the mother and of the child.

It is one of the finest and most noble aspirations of the medical profession to search continually for new means of ensuring the life of both mother and child. But if, notwithstanding all the progress of science, there still remain, and will remain in the future, cases in which one must reckon with the death of the mother, when the mother wills to bring to birth the life that is within her and not destroy it in violation of the command of God - Thou shalt not kill - nothing else remains for the man, who will make every effort till the very last moment to help and save, but to bow respectfully before the laws of nature and the dispositions of divine Providence."
Pius XII, Allocution to Large Families, November 26, 1951. (15)

The Church does acknowledge that there are situations where sadly either the life of the mother or the baby will be lost but those situations are very rare. It is an extremely rare occurrence where a mother is put in a situation where she has to choose between her life and the baby's life. Many Catholic theologians have given this topic much thought and some may have differing views but the official stance of the Catholic Church is that indirect abortions are morally permissible when the death of the fetus is an unintended consequence of an action intended to save the mother's life.

Hope that helps!