These are very difficult situations which cannot really be described in a few lines. Rape is a terrible crime, and it is understandable that a woman who conceives as a result of rape would consider an abortion. However, is it fair to make an innocent child pay for the rapist’s brutal crime? Mother and child have the same right to life and care, also in other cases of unwanted pregnancy.
If the mother is seriously ill, a medical procedure to save her can sometimes end the life of her child. It is very difficult to do the right thing in such cases, since it involves a choice between two evils. This situation is very different from abortion, because the medical treatment of the mother is not intended to kill the child, although the surgery does produce that result. We really need God’s help to make such difficult choices!
