What does the Bible say about abortion?

Answer 1

Deliberately induced abortion simply to avoid the birth of an unwanted child is the willful taking of human life.

Does God view the life of a child as precious even during the very early stages of development after conception? Yes he does.

Ps. 139:13-16: “You [God] kept me screened off in the belly of my mother. . . . Your eyes saw even the embryo of me, and in your book all its parts were down in writing.

God has even stated in his Word that a person would be accountable for an injury to an unborn child.

Ex. 21:22, 23: “In case men should struggle with each other and they really hurt a pregnant woman AND her children do come out but no fatal accident occurs, he is to have damages imposed upon him without fail according to what the owner of the woman may lay upon him; and he must give it through the justices. But if a fatal accident should occur, then you must give soul for soul.”

Answer 2

Directly about abortion the bible is silent. The claim that abortion did not exist in biblical times is untrue, and what you would expect a man --especially a western man-- to say. In the west, the knowledge may be lost, but in many cultures women have shared ways to prematurely end a pregnancy. Unfortunately, without medical knowledge there is grave danger to the mother.

The bible does conceive the unborn as a "child" and there are many references to that effect.

The real issue is how the bible deals with the taking of a life. It seems pretty clear that the taking of an innocent person is to be avoided, though there is clearly gradations of both what is to count as "innocent" and what is to count as a "person." Persons can be wholly property, for example as slaves often are, all the way up to and including the King, who is fully human and fully free.

We westerners hold no such gradations, so the questions of abortion are twofold: do we object to the taking of an innocent human life, and are the unborn innocent human life?

HTH

Charles

Answer 3

The commandment "Thou shalt not kill" in its original text means "you shall not murder". Murder is defined as taking the life of a person without reason. Self defense is a reason...but the inconvenience of a child is not a reason.

The debate seems to stem more from the idea that the fetus is not yet a person rather than from the "killing" angle. Who can say when a person is a person? If a man has a severe stroke or a bad accident and his brain is no longer in control of things and his body is dependent on an outside source to continue living...is that man still not a person? Is the next step up from abortion the killing of old people who have gone senile?

Even if their are only two cells at the beginning of a child in the womb, those two cells still make up a total human being do they not? In otherwords, are those two cells those of a dog or cat that suddenly turn to human at five months or so or are they always human?

Answer 4

The Bible never specifically addresses the issue of abortion. However, there are numerous teachings in Scripture that make it abundantly clear what God’s view of abortion is. Jeremiah 1:5 tells us that God knows us before He knits us in the womb. Psalm 139:13-16 speaks of God’s active role in our creation and formation in the womb. Exodus 21:22-25 prescribes the same penalty for someone who causes the death of a baby in the womb as the penalty for someone who commits murder. This clearly indicates that God considers a baby in the womb as just as much of a human being as a full-grown adult. For the Christian, abortion is not a matter of a woman’s right to choose. It is a matter of the life or death of a human being made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27; 9:6).

Answer 5

The Bible does not address abortion directly but makes it clear that all life is special, unique, and has value whether it is in the womb or out and that the taking of any life, in or out of the womb, is murder and is punishable by death. I'm sure abortion doctors are glad we don't have laws in US with point of view. I have never understood abortion rights advocates who espouse it is a woman's right to choose, but what if it is a woman in the womb, does she have a say about her own demise? They are promoters of death and are hypocritical because if they truly believed in women's rights then only male children would be sliced from a mother's womb and killed.

Answer 6

I have never come across ed any scripture that tells anything on the exact topic. I know it says life is a gift from God. My wife ,when we first met, had an abortion , that I was unaware of for many years after our marriage. I know God has forgiven her and is doing great things in our life. I never ask her about it for I know of God in her life. God is not gloom and doom as some Christian's views on this are. ALL sins are forgivable and should not be reminded to people that have received forgiveness. Hope this helps. If you are thinking of having one, a word to the wise. It is better to carry the burden for only 9 months and give to a loving family than the possible guilt for the rest of your life. Good luck to you.

Answer 7

I don't know if it says anything explicitly, but I'm sure it would not condone the greatest evil that exists in the world today - the murder of innocent and helpless human life. It does say in the bible (I don't remember exactly where) that God knew us before we were born. It would not be a stretch then to take this to mean that we had a soul before we were born, and therefore, confirming what science already tells us, that a fetus is a human life. Once you establish that you just have to remember the commandment "Thou shalt not kill."

Answer 8

A lot of people like to say that the subject of abortion isn't in the Bible, but it actually is.
The commandment to not kill is part of it. Since after conception, the child is considered a living soul.
But also in Exodus I believe, there is an account of if two men are struggling, and they actually hurt a pregnant woman as far as killing her unborn child, they should be punished or killed. So clearly, God's view of killing an unborn child is the same as killing a 45 year old - it's simply murder!

Answer 9

Nothing. Abortion does not exist in either the OT or NT.

Anyone who tries to imply a meaning in the bible for abortion is trying to speak for god. That's a no no.

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Answer 10

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah 1:5