Roman Catholic Church's Perspective on Abortion

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1. Where does the Roman Catholic Church stand on the issue of abortion? Include the relationship between abortion and such things as moral fault, the 5th commandment, the consequences, etc.

Abortion: The Roman Catholic perspective

Abortion is not only "the ejection of an immature fetus" from the womb, but is "also the killing of the same fetus in whatever way at whatever time from the moment of conception it may be procured." (This clarification of Canon 1398, reported in the Dec. 5, 1988, edition of L'Osservatore Romano, was issued by the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts - in view of scientific developments regarding ways and means of procuring abortion.)

Accidental expulsion, as in cases of miscarriage, is without moral fault.

Direct abortion, in which a fetus is intentionally removed from the womb, constitutes a direct attack on an innocent human being, a violation of the Fifth Commandment. A person who procures a completed abortion is automatically excommunicated (Canon 1398 of the Code of Canon Law); also excommunicated are all persons involved in a deliberate and successful effort to bring about an abortion. Direct abortion is not justifiable for any reason, e.g.: therapeutic, for the physical and/or psychological welfare of the mother; preventive, to avoid the birth of a defective or unwanted child; social, in the interests of family and/or community. Indirect abortion, which occurs when a fetus is expelled during medical or other treatment of the mother for a reason other than procuring expulsion, is permissible under the principle of double effect for a proportionately serious reason; e.g., when a medical or surgical procedure is necessary to save the life of the mother. Such a procedure should not be confused with the purportedly "medical" procedure of the partial-birth abortion, a particularly cruel form of abortion.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your studies and take care.

Source: http://www.osv.com/catholicalmanac/04a.asp Retrieved July 13, 2004

EXTRA READING::

ARTICLE:

The Catholic Perspective on Abortion
The Future of Human Society

by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

The future of the human race depends on the Catholic Church's teaching on abortion. This is the statement I wish to prove in this lecture.

Before we go any further in my presentation, let me first explain what I mean.

I mean that the survival of the human race depends finally on the acceptance of the Catholic Church's two thousand years' teaching that the killing of unborn children is murder.

* that abortion is a crime against the divine rights of God over the human beings He created

* that God will not long tolerate this world-wide denial of His rights and

* therefore that either the world will accept the Catholic Church's teaching on abortion or the future survival of the human race is in jeopardy.

My plan for this conference is to ask these questions and provide some answers to each of them:

1. What is the teaching of the Catholic Church on the crime of abortion?

2. What is the teaching of those who defend abortion and have succeeded in legalizing the murder of the unborn in one country after another of the Eastern and Western world?

3. What is our Catholic responsibility to the rest of the world?

Catholic Church's Teaching on Abortion

The Catholic Church's teaching on abortion is deeper than most people realize. For almost twenty centuries, the Catholic Church has taught that the direct killing of an unborn child is a grave violation of the rights of God because Human life is sacred.

This is the heart of my thesis and the foundation of everything else I hope to share with you. Abortion is above all, and beyond all, a crime against God. Why? Because human life is sacred. It belongs to Him, and only He has a right to determine how long mortal human life is to remain alive, and when the life of a human being on earth ...