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Brian,
There is such a thing as a so-called "indirect abortion," which is not illicit. Typically, when a mother's life is threatened, it's because of:
- an ectopic pregnancy, or
- uterine cancer, or
- something where the treatment of the disease results in an unintended side effect of the death of the baby.
This is permissible, so long as you are not killing the baby (aborting the pregnancy) as a means to some other end (such as saving the mother's life).
I am unaware of any cases where a direct abortion (deliberately and intentionally killing the baby as a means to save the life of the mother) is necessary.
It is never permissible to do evil in order that good may result. Otherwise, you justify all sorts of evils. This may lead to some hard cases. But we can be consoled by knowing that this life is not the end and that following the way God set out for us in His Commandments will greatly benefit us in the life to come.
Eric
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