Abortion - a biblical perspective

It always helps to start with a definition - 

America is on the precipice of a national crisis.  The Democrat party is planning to put the "right" to abortion front and center in the 2024 Presidential Election.  The Dobb's decision, returning this matter to the states, was announced by the US Supreme Court in the summer of 2022 which was a reversal of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision.

As of the date of this writing, 25 states have banned abortion or tightened restrictions on the procedure, but not all of these laws have gone into effect as some are being challenged in court.  The other 25 states, along with the District of Columbia, either kept or strengthened the key tenets of the Roe decision or were blocked from changing their laws by the voters and the courts.  Of note, there are 24 countries in the world where abortion is illegal in any and all circumstances.

Roe and the subsequent ruling in Casey upholding it were two of our nation's most infamous examples of flawed constitutional law, driven by pure judicial willfulness and ideology. The Constitution simply does not protect a right to choose abortion, and the Justices who created this right perverted the document in order to impose on the entire nation their own moral-political opinions about the desirability of abortion.

I acknowledge two components to the construction of my thoughts on this matter.  1) I am male, and 2) my beliefs are informed by my biblical world view.

So, just what does the Bible have to say about this topic?  There is a theological term, Imago Dei, that speaks volumes on this issue.  Imago Dei means "image of God" and refers to the fact that we bear His image thru the creative works as described in Genesis.

So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  Genesis 1:27

The Bible also instructs us that God is aware of and calls us, even in our preborn state.  These verses tell us that we are not just a clump of cells, but are truly preborn individuals worthy of God's attention.

 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
And before you were born I consecrated you;
I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

 Listen to Me, you islands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
The LORD called Me from the womb;
From the body of My mother He named Me. Isaiah 49:1

 But when He who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace was pleased Galatians 1:15

For You created my innermost parts;

You wove me in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴ I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Your works,

And my soul knows it very well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully formed in the depths of the earth;

¹⁶ Your eyes have seen my formless substance;

And in Your book were written

All the days that were ordained for me,

When as yet there was not one of them. Psalms 139:13-16

 ‘Your hands fashioned and made me altogether,

Yet would You destroy me?

⁹ Remember that You have made me as clay;

Yet would You turn me into dust again?

¹⁰ Did You not pour me out like milk,

And curdle me like cheese,

¹¹ Clothe me with skin and flesh,

And intertwine me with bones and tendons?

¹² You have granted me life and goodness;

And Your care has guarded my spirit. Job 10:8-12

² This is what the LORD says, He who made you

And formed you from the womb, who will help you:

‘Do not fear, Jacob My servant,

And Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. Isaiah 44:2

We also can see from scripture that the preborn are referred to as children, or babies, not just a fetus.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  And how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me?  For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.  And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.” Luke 1:41-45

“Now if people struggle with each other and strike a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, but there is no injury, the guilty person shall certainly be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide.  But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life,  eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,  burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. Exodus 21:22-25

 “May the day on which I was to be born perish,

As well as the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’ Job 3:3

Given all the texts above, it is obvious that God sees the preborn as having worth, and actually proclaims them "persons".  If we can agree that the unborn are innocent humans, then we are faced with a direct prohibition against abortion.

 “You shall not murder. Exodus 20:13

Since the Roe decision in 1973, there have been over 63 million abortions performed in this country.  The number is likely higher as there are probably many abortions that go unreported.  Even if we accept the 63 million number it is easy to extrapolate some of the impacts to this nation as a result of legalized abortion.  First, we note a significant decline in the trend of annual birth rates.  While we can't assign all of the decline to abortion, we can easily assume that this practice has had a significant impact.  Imagine if we had 63 million additional folks working in this country, contributing to the economy by paying taxes and social security.  Perhaps social security would have a longer lifeline and wouldn't go broke as soon as currently projected.

The pro choice group is  militant, and they will be very vocal during the leadup to the November election.  These are folks who, for the most part, understand what they are doing, but will speak in euphemisms to try to lessen the horror of baby murder.  They will cry about reproductive rights, even though the process is destructive, not reproductive.  There is nothing reproductive about abortion.  Given that the process involves terminating a life, we can also state that no rights exist to allow for murder.

Another euphemistic phrase commonly heard is reproductive health care.  We've already discussed the term reproductive, now let's look at the next two words.  There is nothing healthy or caring about abortion - nothing.  Note the claims of Priscilla Coleman of Bowling Green State University, the author of the meta-analyses published in what the website termed the "prestigious British Journal of Psychiatry." Namely:

"Women who have had an abortion have an 81 percent higher risk of subsequent mental health problems compared to women who have not had an abortion.

"Women who aborted have a 138 percent higher risk of mental health problems compared to women who have given birth.

"Women who aborted have a 55 percent higher risk of mental health problems compared to women with an 'unplanned' pregnancy who gave birth.

"Women with a history of abortion have higher rates of anxiety, depression, alcohol use/misuse, marijuana use, and suicidal behavior, compared to those who have not had an abortion."

May God continue to have mercy on this nation