Abortion was known and practiced in the world of Greco-Romanworld into which Christianity came. Judaism, having developed a high respectfor the family, for women, and for individual life, had condemned abortion butfound certain exceptions to it. The Christian message brought further dignityto the concept of the individual person and the value of life. The value of theunborn person became closely associated with a similar value granted to theborn person. As Christian beliefs crystallized in writing and traditioncondemnation of abortion came to be “an almost absolute value” states Prof.John T. Noonan of the University of California at Berkley in his book, “TheMorality of Abortion”.
Abortion, according the teachings of the Church means anyintentional killing of the foetus any time after conception through whatevermeans. The Fifth Commandments forbids any innocent person’s death, especiallythe innocent unborn. Looking at it analytically, abortion can be direct orindirect. Abortion is direct when the ejection or the destruction of theoffspring in the womb is intended as the aim of an action or as a means toachieve this aim, e.g. abortion in order to save the reputation of an unwedmother. Abortion is indirect if the death of the fetus is merely permitted as aconcomitant effect or side effect of a directly willed end, e.g. the death of afoetus caused by the removal of the cancerous uterus of a pregnant mother.
Catholic ethics absolutely rejects any kind of abortion foreugenic, ethical and social reasons and considers it simply as murder of theinnocent. Catholic moral theology at least always admitted the lawfulness ofindirect abortion in cases of serious danger for the mother’s life. Here weapply the principle of double effect i.e. when a human act produces a doubleeffect, as in the said case: the life of the woman (good effect), and the lossof the foetus (bad effect) in her womb.
The highest good, besides a person’s eternal salvation, isthe realization of God’s plan with mankind and the world. This plan alsoincludes the unfolding of his creation. Viewed in this perspective, theanticipated death of a foetus constitutes a lesser evil than the mother becausethe mother can still contribute, and perhaps more, to the realization of God’splan in the world. The foetus, on the other hand, that is unable to survive themother’s death, is therewith also unable to contribute to God’s creative plan.Hence his right to be kept alive must yield to the higher claim of the divineplan which demands that the mother’s life be saved, if necessary by the directremoval of the unviable fetus.
