] Pope Pius IX reversed the stance of the Roman Catholic
] church once more. He dropped the distinction between the
] "fetus animatus" and "fetus inanimatus" in 1869. Canon
] law was revised in 1917 and 1983 and to refer simply to
] "the fetus." The tolerant approach to abortion which had
] prevailed in the Roman Catholic Church for centuries
] ended. The church requires excommunication for abortions
] at any stage of pregnancy.