Are you familiar with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and what it says about abortion?
I am not a Catholic, so the short answer is no. However, I think I can safely sum it up by saying that the Catholic Church has always proclaimed that abortion is a sin.
My point, on this thread, is that for the last 20 or 30 years they have proclaimed it from under a bushel basket, to use a Biblical phrase.
Not until the last year or two, when they have been lead by their congregations, have they had the courage to throw off that bushel basket they've been hiding under and proclaim it loudly, openly, and with the threat of excommunications.