Is the US Catholic Church starting to draw a line in the sand over abortion? In a case which is beginning to draw a lot of comment, an Arizona nun has been excommunicated by the local bishop for authorising an abortion at a Catholic hospital. Sister of Mercy Margaret McBride was a member of the ethics committee at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. In late 2009 she was asked for advice about a 27-year-old mother of four who was desperately ill and 11 weeks pregnant. According to the hospital, the woman had a rare condition called pulmonary hypertension which threatened her life if she continued with her pregnancy.

Ms McBride authorised an abortion. When Bishop Thomas J. Olmstead heard of it, he declared that she was excommunicated. This is apparently the standard penalty for abortion in the Catholic Church.

"I am gravely concerned by the fact that an abortion was performed several months ago in a Catholic hospital in this diocese," Olmsted said. "I am further concerned by the hospital's statement that the termination of a human life was necessary to treat the mother's underlying medical condition. An unborn child is not a disease. While medical professionals should certainly try to save a pregnant mother's life, the means by which they do it can never be by directly killing her unborn child. The end does not justify the means." A group of Catholic doctors has backed the bishop’s reasoning. ~ National Catholic Reporter, May 18