What is the history of the Roman Catholic doctrine regarding abortion, and how many times has it changed?
As the church influence was stronger, there was no much difference between legality and the position of the church. Today, there are some conflicts. “Many early laws and church doctrine focused on “quickening,” when a fetus began to move on its own, as a way to differentiate when an abortion became impermissible. In the 18th–19th centuries various doctors, clerics, and social reformers successfully pushed for an all-out ban on abortion. During the 20th century abortion has become legal in many Western countries, but it is regularly subjected to legal challenges and restrictions by pro-life groups.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_abortion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quickening “Although the Roman Catholic Church has always considered abortion a grave offense, it has at times punished the offense diffe
