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Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
Question 6: Does the Catholic Church allow abortion when the life of the mother is threatened?
Answer: The Catholic Church does not permit the direct and intentional killing of an unborn child for any reason. If the mother’s life is endangered, the Church expects the doctor to do everything possible to save the life of the mother and the baby.
An indirect abortion is morally allowable if the death of the unborn child is not directly willed, but is rather the unintended side effect of a legitimate medical procedure. For example, it would not be contrary to Catholic teaching to remove a cancerous uterus in order to save the mother’s life, knowing that the operation would cause the death of the child who was growing inside that uterus but was not yet able to live outside the mother.
