Question:
Answer:
Abortion is the “direct and intentional killing” of an unborn child (CCC 2268; 2270-74), so a woman—Catholic or otherwise—may not directly kill her unborn baby, or have a doctor do so.
At the same time, doctors should do all they can to save both mother and baby during the birth process.
In addition, under the principal of double effect, a woman may licitly receive treatment for a medical condition, e.g., ovarian cancer, that may induce premature labor which might unintentionally result in the death of her child. The procedure is morally licit because the death of the child is an unintended side effect of a medical procedure that is proportionately grave, namely, to save the life of the mother.
On the other hand, a mother may choose to heroically forego such morally licit surgery so as to not endanger her unborn child, and only address her malady after the birth of her child. In doing so, she may end up sacrificing her life. Such is not morally required, but such a sacrifice is undoubtedly heroic, as St. Gianna Molla exemplified.