Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. 72 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. 73
Catechism number 2274
Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being.
Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, "if it respects the life and
integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed toward its safe
guarding or healing as an individual....
It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of
possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not
be the equivalent of a death sentence."81