... Thomas Aquinas. Being a highly casuistic theory, the natural law is based on a general set of rules, namely the universal law of God, which are applied to all situations. Again this is another example of exclusion, showing that the natural law does not acknowledge individual circumstances. For example, with this theory, all abortions are considered totally wrong. So if a young girl or indeed any woman was raped and became pregnant as a result, she would be forced to carry the baby to term and as giving it up for adoption is again considered unnatural, she would have to bring up the child. An abortion would not be considered as a viable option, even if the woman was at serious mental or physical risk from the pregnancy, because the abortion would be the intended effect. However, if a pregnant woman had cervical, uterine or ovarian cancer and required a hysterectomy ...

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