Joseph,

Thanks for the question. Abortion is the deliberate killing of an unborn child. Since this person is de facto innocent of any crime, taking her life is murder, a violation of the commandment.

In the case of war, circumstances play a huge role. Defending one's country against aggressors is simply self-defense and killing is often the only way to stop the aggressor, so that is not murder or a violation of the commandment. World War II was predicated on the notion that the Axis powers had to be stopped from the great evil they were perpetrating against humanity.

On the opposite side, however, the aggressors (Nazis and Japanese) were in essence, murderers because they made the initial attacks against innocents and sovereign states. God knows how much culpability each person has due to his particular role, but even on Earth we recognize the concept of war crimes whereas someone (on either side) acts brutally towards others when there was no need for it.

Peace,

Bob Kirby

Dear Joseph,

This is a common question; it's even in our searchable knowledge base:

https://www.AskACatholic.com/SiteSearch

There are a lot of quick answers there, so give it a try.

I searched the knowledge base for you and found these web postings that should answer your questions.

Hope this helps,

Mike