Pope Francis said on Sunday that abortion is not a lawful way to solve problems, even in extreme and desperate situations, and that awareness of the need to help women in difficult pregancies is on the rise.
During a March 31 Spanish television interview, Pope Francis was asked about the permissibility of abortion in an extreme case: a woman who has been trafficked and becomes pregnant by rape. He said he could understand the desperation the woman in such a scenario might feel, but that “it is not lawful to eliminate a human life to solve a problem.”
