What Does the Bible Say About Abortion?

The Baby in the Womb is Called a Child: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son." –Mat. 1:23
"Rebekah his wife conceived [and] the children [Jacob and Esau, the most famous twins in history] struggled together within her." –Moses, Genesis 25:22
"Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son [Samson]. Now drink no wine or similar drink… for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb…" –Judges 13:7
"He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And... the babe [little Johnnie] leaped in her womb…" –Luke 1:15, 41
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…" –Jeremiah 1:5

The New Testament refers to Jesus in the womb as a "child". The Bible also indicates that Mary had a normal gestation period while carrying Jesus. (See Luke 2:1-6 and 1:56-57.) The Lord's body was developing within his mother for a full nine months, showing that the Jesus began His earthly human life as a tiny embryo, a single cell. Many centuries before the Incarnation, the most famous twins in the history of the world, Jacob and Esau, fraternal twins, are called "children" in the Scriptures while they are in the womb. And of course, to this day, twins grab hold of one another in the womb, and unborn children suck their thumbs, play with their toes, sleep, dream, and even learn the melodies of songs, and their own mother's voice. Regarding God's command to the woman who later bore Samson, to not drink wine, her "child" would be a Nazirite "from the womb," for a Nazirite is a person who, among other things, does not drink alcohol. Modern child-welfare laws in 18 states (AZ, CA, FL, IL, IN, IA, MD, MA, MI, MN, NV, OK, RI, SC, TX, UT, VA, WI) recognize that a pregnant mother who drinks alcohol not only can harm her child, but can inflict him or her with fetal alcohol syndrome. Also, fetal thirst helps regulate the amount of amniotic fluid in the womb. Excess amniotic fluid, called hydramnios (or polyhydramnios) affects 2% of pregnancies and can be somewhat alleviated by fetal swallowing (and eventual expelling) of amniotic fluid, which swallowing can be increased by injection into the womb of an artificial hunger stimulator (peptide) or even by the mother eating sweets.

Crime of Killing the Innocent: "Do not kill the innocent." –Exodus 23:7
"Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person." -Deut. 27:25
"On your skirts is found the blood of the lives of the poor innocents. I have not found it by secret search, but plainly… Yet you say, 'Because I am innocent, Surely His anger shall turn from me.' Behold [says God], I will plead My case against you, because you say, 'I have not sinned.'" –Jer. 2:34-35
"Your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, for shedding innocent blood, and practicing oppression and violence." –Jer. 22:17
"For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands… and even sacrificed their sons…" –Ezekiel 23:37
…that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech. –2 Kings 23:10
"You shall not murder." –God, Exodus 20:13
"Jesus said, 'You shall not murder...'" –God, Matthew 18:18

The intentional killing of the innocent is murder. Abortionists refer to the unborn children they kill as tissue and tumors, and many "conservative" politicians refer to the babies they support killing as "exceptions." But God didn't care about all the fruit Eve did not eat; nor did He mention all the women David did not violate; nor list the children whom Herod did not kill. God looks at the exceptions. He calls them children, who are made in Hisimage and likeness. Because abortion is a public venture, except for those individually forgiven by God through faith in Jesus Christ, there is a corporate guilt for the shedding of innocent blood, with the curse pronounced by God in Deuteronomy undoubtedly applying to the abortionist, who gets money to killthe innocent, as well as to "pro-choice" judges and politicians who serve the child-killing industry.

Crime of Killing the Unborn is Murder: "If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so thatshe gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman's husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follows, then you shall give 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

Exodus 21:22 is the first fetal homicide law and concerns the child harmedduring a separate assault. Pro-abortion theologians wrongly interpret this passage to refer to miscarriage, and only if the woman also dies is the penalty then life for life. But the passage distinguishes between the baby who survives the assault and the baby who dies. The meaning turns on whether the woman has a miscarriage or gives birth prematurely. And the Hebrew verb used is NOT that for miscarriage. Therefore the passage imposes only a fine on the criminal who accidentally causes a premature birth, but the punishment is life for life if the baby then dies. This shows that God equated the life of the unborn with that of the born, and abortion with murder. This passage, like Exodus 21:33-36, 22:5-6, and others, teaches that those who cause injury are responsible for their actions, even if the harm was unintentional. Therefore, this passage is the biblical model for anyprincipled Unborn Victims of Crime Act. However, if the harm to the unborn in Exodus 21:22 spoke only of miscarriage, the teaching would then support legalized abortion by valuing the life of a fetus only with a fine, and only if the mother later died, would her death require taking the criminal's life. But note the word used to describe the consequence of the crime described in Exodus 21:22, "If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so thatshe gives birth prematurely," the Hebrew word for miscarriage, shaw-kole, is NOT used. If the baby came out dead, a monetary fine would indicate a less than human value for the life of the fetus. However, because Exodus 21:22 says premature birth, and not miscarriage, the passage does not support a right to kill an unborn child, as contended by many who mistranslate this text. Rather, the text values the unborn child's life equal to that of any other person. The author Moses (Mat. 12:26) mentions the idea of a baby coming out of the womb twice within three chapters. In Exodus 23:26, he uses the Hebrew word for miscarriage, speaking of barrenness and shaw-kole (miscarriage). But the word at Exodus 21:22 is yaw-tsaw, which means to come out, come forth, bring forth, and has no connotation of death but in fact the opposite.(וְכִֽי־יִנָּצ֣וּ אֲנָשִׁ֗ים וְנָ֨גְפ֜וּ אִשָּׁ֤ה הָרָה֙ וְיָצְא֣וּ יְלָדֶ֔יהָ וְלֹ֥א יִהְיֶ֖ה אָסֹ֑ון עָנֹ֣ושׁ יֵעָנֵ֗שׁ כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֨ר יָשִׁ֤ית עָלָיו֙ בַּ֣עַל הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה וְנָתַ֖ן בִּפְלִלִֽים׃) The Hebrew Scriptures use yaw-tsaw 1,043 times beginning with Genesis 1:24 where God said, “Let the earthbring forth the living creature…” In Genesis and Exodus alone Moses uses this word about 150 times such as in Genesis 25 describing the births of twins Jacob and Esau. Thus the Mosaic law requires the criminal to pay financial restitution to a woman unintentionally injured by a criminal if she "gives birth prematurely." But then if the baby dies, the text applies the full Hebrew idiom which means that the punishment should fit the crime. If there is harm beyond a premature birth, and the unborn child dies, then the punishment is "life for life."

Judging with Righteous Judgment: "You have rightly judged." –Jesus, Luke 7:43
"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." –Jesus, John 7:24
“Why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?” –Jesus, Luke 12:56-57
"First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly [to judge, i.e.] to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye” –Jesus, Mat. 7:5
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? –1 Cor 6:2-3
"Those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them." –Prov. 24:25
Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously... plead the cause of the... needy. -Prov. 31:8-9
He who is spiritual judges all things… for… we have the mind of Christ. –1 Cor 2:15-16

"Don't judge," is the objection raised a thousand times over against Christians trying to save unborn children from being torn apart by an abortionist. However Jesus commanded men both to judge rightly and to "judge not." Did the Lord contradict Himself? Or does the Bible say more about judging than many realize? Jesus taught men to judge rightly insisting they “judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24). And the Apostle Paul shamed the Corinthian Christians because no one among them was willing to even “judge the smallest matters” (1 Cor. 6:2), let alone the intentional killing of children. If the Lord had not commanded us to judge, Christians would have to give a pass to terrorists and child pornographers. Today, millions of Christians have been seduced into relativism, where there are no absolutes, except for turning Christ's qualified don't judgeitself into an absolute. Churchgoers repeat that mantra if anyone admonishes them for sexual immorality or for killing their child, thereby replacing God's absolutes with the moral relativist dream. (For a full treatment of the Bible's teaching to judge correctly and not according to appearance, see Judge Rightly is Not Some Guy's Name.)

Kids Especially Loved by God: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you... –Jeremiah 1:5

Jesus created children: Ps. 139:13-16; John 1:3; Col. 1:16; Isa. 43:7
Then God the Son became flesh: Jn. 1:1, 14; Phil. 2:5, 7; Isa. 7:14
The Babe was born in Bethlehem: Luke 2:1, 4-6; Ps. 87:5-6; Micah 5:2
He lived as a Child: Isa. 9:6; Luke 2:42, 48, 51-52
Jesus loves kids including in the womb: Jer. 1:5; Mat. 18:2, 5; Mark 10:14-16; Gal. 1:5
He healed children: Mat. 15:28; 17:18He saved a child from death: Mark 5:23, 41-42He blesses others through them: Ps. 127:3; John 6:9-10
He praised the childlike attitude: Mat. 18:2-4
The Lord attracted children: Mat. 21:15Their Friend just happens to be the eternal God, born of mankind:
 - eternal: Micah 5:2; Isa. 9:6; Rev. 1:8
 - of Adam & Eve, Abraham, and David: Lk. 3:23, 38; 1 Cor. 15:45; Gen. 3:15; 22:18; 2 Sam. 7:12-13
Jesus warned against harming children: Mat. 18:2, 6; Mark 13:12
Blesses believers who protect children: Mark 9:36-37; Mat. 25:41-46

Love Your Neighbor – Responsibility to Intervene: "Rescue those drawn toward death." –Proverbs 24:11-12
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Mt. 22:39; "And who is my neighbor?" Lk. 10:29
"...you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets." Mat. 23:29-33
"If anyone is found slain…and it is not known who killed him, then… measure the distance… to the surrounding cities… And it shall be that the elders of the city nearest to the slain man… shall answer and say, 'Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it… do not lay innocent blood to the charge of Your people…' So you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD." –Deuteronomy 21:1-3, 7-9

No Christian in America can say to God about abortion, "We did not know it, our eyes have not seen it," for child killing is openly bragged about, and God gives no believer the latitude to be apathetic toward these children nor their families, which apathy itself would be a form of hatred toward one's neighbor. Individual Christians have the forgiveness purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. However by requiring the authorities to measure the distance and determine the city nearest to the crime, God is recognizing the corporate guilt of society knowing that the community that tolerates the shedding of innocent blood becomes increasingly godless. Children and grandchildren then suffer by living in that increasing godlessness. Of the Samaritans, Jesus told the woman at the well that you "worship what you do not know" (John 4:22) whereas "salvation is of the Jews." Yet in the Parable of the Good Samaritan when criminals left a victim "half dead… a certain priest… passed by on the other side… But a certain Samaritan… had compassion… Then Jesus said…, 'Go and do likewise'" (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus did not mean that His followers should behave like the religious leader who was apathetic, but rather, loving God and loving your neighbor requires intervention on behalf of the innocent.

Made in God's Image: Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…" Gen. 1:26

God exists as three persons in one Trinity. Likewise, the triune God created tripartate man, with body, soul, and spirit (1 Thes. 5:23) and He also imprinted our world with His triune nature. Space exists in three dimensions, height, width, and length, as does time in past, present and future. There are protons, neutrons, and electrons and the primary colors of red, green, and blue. We live on this third planet from the Sun and enjoy matter in solid, liquid, and gas. We build with the strongest shape, the triangle, and our DNA uses only three-letter words. Human beings live here, in heaven, and in hell, with those who love Him crying out, "Holy, holy, holy." Being made in God's image image refers to our form, and being made in Hislikeness refers to our essence as sentient, morally-responsible persons. Charles Darwin hoped for evidence that apes eventually began standing erect. However, thousands of kinds of animals made by God, along with all the four-footed beasts, have a stooped stance and look to the ground, whereas men and women alone stand upright created with a heavenly gaze and as the most social of creatures. For the first thing that God created was a form, that is, an image, for the eternal Son to indwell (Col. 1:15; etc.). And in that image "He made man," and not in the image of apes (see AmericanRTL.org/Darwin). But He made them "male and female" as Christ affirmed (Mark 10:6), "from the beginning of creation." And as Moses wrote in Hebrew צֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים‎‎, which in Latin is imago Dei and in Greek, εἰκόνα θεοῦ: "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Gen. 1:27). And because a fish is not made in God's image, one can eat another without guilt, and it is impossible to "murder" a tomato or a turkey. Only a human being can be murdered. For God prohibited the shedding of innocent blood, "for in the image of God He made man" (Gen. 9:6). See more at rsr.org/3.