Abortion is not supported by the Bible, although very few verses that deal with it directly. The arguments against abortion are broken into the following sections:
With all of this said, there is not a singular position of Christianity. A minority of believers will support abortion, but the majority oppose it. Within the majority there are also divides on whether it's sometimes permissible or never at all. So while the below sections are guidelines, they don't aim to cover every nuanced view.
Causing harm to a mother during pregnancy
In this verse, we are dealing with a premature birth, with additional conditions that only apply with a loss of life:
When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Exodus 21:22-25 ESV
In the first condition, if a woman is hit and causes premature birth, there is a fine. The requirement is only that there’s no serious injury. However, the passage is unclear as to who it is that we're judging to be seriously injured. But, in the second condition if the life is taken then the price is life for life.
It is possible for this verse to apply to (a) the life of the child, (b) the life of the mother, (c) the life of either the child or mother. The verse definitely seems to apply to the woman, because the examples of harm seem to apply almost exclusively to an adult. However, the loss of life could be considered as applicable to the baby.
While the passage isn’t explicitly about abortion, the principle teaching at the end is that there is a price of life for life. This punishment of a life taken is for a life to be given. That's upheld elsewhere in the Old Testament:
Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death.
Leviticus 24:17 ESV
Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.
Exodus 21:12 ESV
So, the questions this verse points us towards are: when does life begin? Are there different values attached to an infant and adult?
The sanctity of life
The bible upholds the divine truth that we are all created by God, in His likeness, and belonging to Him. Here are three verses that demonstrate this truth:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.
Jeremiah 1:5 ESV
Your hands fashioned and made me, and now you have destroyed me altogether. Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust? Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews. You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit.
Job 10:8-12 ESV
The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
Psalm 24:1-2 ESV
There are several important conclusions from these passages. The common thread throughout these verses and many like them, is that God forms humans in the womb, and knows us before we are born.
In Job's complaint to God, he identifies that God had curdled him like cheese, clothed him with flesh, knitted him with bones and sinews. But, Job is most likely referring to the womb, just as the psalmist does in Psalm 139:13. There are no reasons to believe that Job was in a supernatural way.
We also see that the psalmist writes that the earth and all things belong to God, for he formed them all. Every child, man, woman, or beast of the field, blade of grass, drop of water or rocky mountain belong to Him. There's very little reason to believe that because the child exists inside the mother, that it belongs to her until the time that the baby leaves her care.
Pharaoh orders the infants to be killed
In Exodus the story of the Jews enslaved to Egypt starts with a very wicked plot to kill all the newborn sons. This story leads to Moses, who is attributed as the author for Genesis and much of the Old Testament. It's unlikely that these Hebrew midwives would have looked to scripture for an answer. But here is how they acted:
Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.
Exodus 1:15-17 ESV
These women recognised that the life of an infant was sacred to God. They did not do as Pharaoh asked; they spared the boys. Which leaves the answer of when does life begin as somewhere between conception and birth. The most conservative interpretation would be life at the point of conception and the most liberal being once the baby is born. However, the life at moment of birth presents a problem in how we value life:
Children are born at different times, some early and some late.
Infants can survive outside of the womb earlier than they are born, providing that they have the right care.
Some people have access to better care than others, which means their kids risk of survival are different.
If we place birth as start of life, then wealthy children are able to access their right to live sooner than those that are poor. Those that can afford to the right care for their infants are able to more safely deliver a child earlier than those without access to such technology or medicine.
However, I suspect that the midwives in Israel didn't debate whether it was conception or birth. These women were asked to kill the babies after they were born, only because Pharaoh wanted to the boys dead. Had they been able to determine the gender earlier, and kill the infant sooner, then he would likely have made that request to the midwives. Undoubtedly, their fear of God would have persevered and they would have rejected this sinful practice.
What about special circumstances?
There are circumstances where the life of the baby comes with a moral predicament. What if childbirth will almost certainly harm the mother? What if the child will have serious deformities and live only a short and painful life? What if the child is a product of rape or abuse? In each of these situations it becomes hard to deny that abortion may be seen as compassionate to the mother or child.
However, it is worth noting that these questions are often presented disingenuously. Supporters of pro-choice will often present a logical fallacy that rejecting abortion is subjecting women to these conditions. However, that is a slipper slope. Being anti-abortion does not subject women to increased risk or violence, nor are such cases are the majority of abortions.
In the United Kingdom, there were 209,917 abortions in 2020, which is the highest since the abortion act came into effect during 1968. Out of these abortions, the most widely used reason is that childbirth would have greater risk on physical or mental health of the mother. This accounts for 98.1% of abortions (205,930) with 99.9% stating it would impact their mental health. Of these, the majority were categorised as an F99 unspecified mental disorder.
(You can find out more at the Office of National Statistics)
Sadly, the law makes no provision for women to have an abortion as a result of rape. Some of these 205,930 infants that died may have been due to rape. A liberal estimate would likely place the upper limit as 5% of these abortions. However, without any data, it's hard to distinguish with much degree of certainty.
Out of the remaining 1.9%, the majority fall under developmental disorders of the child (1.5%). This was significantly more likely with mothers that are 35 years or older. The remaining 0.4% are due to complications that would result in grave, permanent or fatal harm to the mother. Combined, these categories account for short of 2% of all abortions.
The reality is that abortions are handed out liberally, and essentially on-demand. With the main audience being young adults who are practicing unprotected and pre-marital sex.
Even if Christians agreed to abortion for victims of rape, mothers at risk of serious harm, or children with serious disorders - we would be saving approximately 200,000 children in a single year. Thus, the argument that Christians subject women to such scenarios is unfounded. To the contrary, most moderate Christians would be happy with this middle ground. The main objection is to the unnecessary abortions, not the necessary ones.
Comments