Ok! Thanks! Under Roman Catholic rule... If a mother and child were in
a car accident and only one of them could be saved, who would that be?
 Or again under Roman Catholic rule if a mother was pregnant with a
child and a choice had to be of who to save - who would be saved?

Hi!!

Regarding the car accident case, the answer is not absolute, for the
Catholic Church ALL human lives has the same value, that is there is
no preferences between adults and children, so the answer in this case
is do the most to save both lives.

The short answer to the abortion question is that abortion is
absolutely banned by the Catholic Church:
"The Catholic church hierarchy today does not permit abortion in any
instance, not even in case of rape or as a direct way of saving the
life of a pregnant woman."
From "The Abortion Decision - Abortion and Catholic Thought: The
Little-Told History":
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/nobandwidth/English/cathwomen/abortiondecision.htm

At the above document you will find info related to abortion and
Catholic thought in the history, for example:
"1930: Therapeutic Abortions Condemned 
In his encyclical Casti Connubii (Of Chaste Spouses), Pope Pius XI
condemned abortion in general, and specifically in three instances: in
the case of therapeutic abortion, which he called the killing of an
innocent; in marriage to prevent offspring; and on social and eugenic
grounds, as practiced by some governments.
Pius's stance on abortion remains the hierarchical view today. The
encyclical Casti Connubii did not purport to be infallible teaching,
but as an address by the pope to the bishops, it carries great
authority.

1965: Protection from the Moment of Conception
The Second Vatican Council, in Gaudium et Spes (section 51), declared:
"Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of
conception; abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes." Here,
abortion is now condemned on the basis of protecting life, not as a
concealment of sexual sin.

1974: The "Right-to-Life" Argument
In 1974, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith issued the
"Declaration on Procured Abortion," which opposes abortion on the
grounds that "one can never claim freedom of opinion as a pretext for
attacking the rights of others, most especially the right to life."
The key to this position is that the fetus is human life from the
moment of conception, if not necessarily a full human being. With this
position, the church has fully changed the terms of its argument.

Today: Abortion Ban Is Absolute." 
From "The Abortion Decision - Abortion and Catholic Thought: The
Little-Told History":
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/nobandwidth/English/cathwomen/abortiondecision.htm


Pope Pius IX wrote in the encyclical Apostolicae Sedis in 1869 that
excommunication is the required penalty for provocated abortion at any
stage of pregnancy, and the excommunication is latae sententiae, that
is automatic. Note that the excommunication is required for all the
people involved on it: the woman who aborts and for any others, such
as doctors and nurses, who take part in and/or gives support for an
abortion.
But trully repented people that use sacramental Confession are
re-admitted to Holy Communion.


For more references see:
"Declaration on procured abortion" by the SACRED CONGREGATION FOR THE
DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, 18 November 1974:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19741118_declaration-abortion_en.html


"Catholic Update ©1998 - Abortion: What the Church Teaches" by Helen Alvaré:
http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0898.asp


"Abortion":
http://www.catholic.com/library/Abortion.asp


"Abortion and Personhood: Historical and Comparative Notes" by Dr. David L. Perry:
http://home.earthlink.net/~davidlperry/abortion.htm


"Abortion and the Catholic Church - Resources for Catholic Educators":
http://www.silk.net/RelEd/abortion.htm


"Theology Library - Abortion":
http://www.shc.edu/theolibrary/abortion.htm



-Search strategy-
at Google.com searched using the following keywords:
abortion catholic church
"therapeutic abortion" catholic church
repented abortion confession


Hope this helps you. Feel free to request for a clarification if you
find this answer unclear or incomplete. I will gladly respond your
requests for further assistance related to this question.

Regards,
livioflores-ga

(((5-Stars Plus))) . What a plethora of knowledge.  Thank you for your
extensive research.

Every attempt should be made to save both lives but if this is not
possible then the womans life takes precedence.
If we look at Exodus 
21:22
    If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit
depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely
punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he
shall pay as the judges determine.
21:23
    And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
21:24
    Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
21:25
    Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.  

It is not the damage to the child, but to the woman that is being
judged- therefore one could say that the unborn child has a value less
than that of the woman.

HOWEVER:
"There are two questions at issue here. One is medical (Is there ever
need for an abortion to save the mother's life?) and the other is
moral (Would an abortion in that case be justified?) The answer to
both questions is no. There is no medical situation whose only
solution is a direct abortion, as many doctors have testified. Morally
speaking, furthermore, it is never right to directly kill an innocent
person, even if good results are foreseen. We do not say that a baby's
life is more important than the mother's. We do say that they are
equal. You may never directly kill either one of them. If, in spite of
the best medical efforts, one or both of them die, nothing morally
wrong has been done, because an effort has been made to save life, but
has failed. That is far different from killing."
http://www.priestsforlife.org/questions.html

I thank you for going above and beyond and adding your comment to
provide me with further insight.  5-Stars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!