Expert: Fr. Michael - 12/23/2010

Question
This was taken from the Catholic Encyclopedia..what does this mean? In regards to when an abortion can be done...

"However, if medical treatment or surgical operation, necessary to save a mother's life, is applied to her organism (though the child's death would, or at least might, follow as a regretted but unavoidable consequence), it should not be maintained that the fetal life is thereby directly attacked. Moralists agree that we are not always prohibited from doing what is lawful in itself, though evil consequences may follow which we do not desire. The good effects of our acts are then directly intended, and the regretted evil consequences are reluctantly permitted to follow because we cannot avoid them. The evil thus permitted is said to be indirectly intended. It is not imputed to us provided four conditions are verified, namely:

•That we do not wish the evil effects, but make all reasonable efforts to avoid them;
•That the immediate effect be good in itself;
•That the evil is not made a means to obtain the good effect; for this would be to do evil that good might come of it — a procedure never allowed;
•That the good effect be as important at least as the evil effect.
Thanks!

Answer
One can never directly produce an abortion.  If, however, an abortion indirectly occurs as a natural consequence, this may be morally under the conditoins described.  Think of it this way.  If an operation is necessary to save the mother's life, and as an indirect consequence of that good action, an abortion spontaneously occurs, that may be morally permissable.