[johnb2004]

"Because abortion, like murder, is always wrong (except when the mother's life is at risk). It's intrinsically evil. The imposition of the death penalty isn't always wrong. It isn't intrinsically evil."

Just to clarify, you do not mean to say that abortion is ever morally justified do you? In those rare circumstances that a mother's life may hang in the balance, then delivering the baby early may be required and the baby may die in the process, but intention is everything. To intentionally abort is a grave sin.

[Aquinasfan]

Just to clarify, you do not mean to say that abortion is ever morally justified do you?

It can be if the life of the mother is in grave danger. It would be an application of the principle of double-effect. Consider the case of a woman with an ectopic pregnancy. In order to save the mother's life, the baby must be removed from the fallopian tube. Removing the baby will kill the baby. But the primary intention of the action isn't to kill the baby, but to save the mother's life. One action has two effects, one good and one bad. The secondary effect isn't worse than the good effected by the primary act, so the primary act is permissible.