Every pregnancy should be a moment of joy, the beginning of new life. Yet, some women and girls face the painful and complex dilemma of whether to continue a pregnancy.
As an advocate for the decriminalisation of abortion, I believe that girls and women should not be punished for choosing to end a pregnancy, especially when that decision is shaped by trauma, health risks or other difficult realities. But I also recognise, as a Catholic, that the church has its own moral teachings distinct from civil law.
Catholic moral teaching holds that intentional termination of a pregnancy is morally impermissible. However, the church also recognises some acts intended to save the life of the pregnant woman may indirectly lead to the death of the foetus.
This is the principle of double effect: the harmful effect (loss of the fetus) is not intended, even if foreseen, and may be morally tolerated under certain conditions.
For example, in an ectopic pregnancy, where the fertilised egg implants outside the uterus and endangers the woman’s life, treatment to save the woman’s life is allowed even if it results in the loss of the pregnancy. After all, the intention is not to abort, but to remove a life-threatening condition.
This distinction between direct abortion and an unintended secondary effect is central to Catholic ethics.
The life of St Gianna Beretta Molla offers a powerful example of Catholic moral decision-making.
The Italian paediatrician was pregnant when she was diagnosed with a tumour in her uterus.
Under Italian law at the time, abortion was legally permissible under various circumstances.
St Gianna could have chosen to terminate the pregnancy on legal grounds, but the devout Catholic believed direct abortion to be morally wrong.
She had a morally permissible option: a hysterectomy to remove the uterus, which could have ended the pregnancy even though the intention would be to remove the diseased organ. The loss of the foetus would have been a secondary effect.
Instead, St Gianna chose a more difficult path: She kept the pregnancy, knowing it carried a high risk to her own life.
After giving birth, doctors attempted to treat the tumour, but she succumbed to complications.
The Church celebrates her as a saint on April 28 not because she followed state law, but because she freely prioritised her child’s life.
Her decision was not compelled by fear of legal punishment, but was an act of faith and moral conviction.
St Gianna’s illustrates that moral decisions are often made within personal and religious frameworks, not simply in response to state laws.
If a young girl became pregnant after being raped, Catholic teaching would still prohibit intentional abortion, even in such tragic circumstances, out of reverence for the unborn life.
However, the emotional and psychological trauma experienced by the girl might be grounds for legal abortion under state law, such as in Malawi, where abortion is permitted when the life or health of the woman or girl is at risk.
This is where Catholic moral teaching and civil law may diverge. Civil law seeks to provide options to all citizens, regardless of their faith, while the church offers guidance for those who wish to follow its teachings.
Respecting Catholic teaching does not require that civil law punish those who act outside it.
Decriminalising abortion is not an endorsement of it; it simply removes criminal penalties so that women are not treated as offenders for making complex personal decisions.
A Catholic woman who chooses to carry her pregnancy to term, even in difficult circumstances, can still do so where the law permits safe abortion.
She is not compelled to terminate her pregnancy just because the law allows it. Rather, she remains free to follow her faith and make a moral decision based on informed conscience.
In fact, moral virtue is more authentic when it arises from free will, not fear of punishment.
St Gianna chose life not because the law required it, but because her conscience led her there.
That is a powerful example of faith in action.
It is important to distinguish between civil law and Church law.
Catholic moral teaching will always uphold the sanctity of life, but the role of civil law is not to impose religious morality, but to ensure justice, compassion and access to care for all.
Catholics can, and will, continue to live by their moral convictions, even in a countries where abortion is decriminalised. What matters most is that they do so freely, guided by faith, not fear.
