From time to time, I will write an essay like this one on a theological topic of interest or that I feel passionate about. My previous one was about the pseudo Christian ad that ran during the Super Bowl “He Gets Us”. Today I want to turn my attention to the topic of abortion. I realise that this topic is a sensitive one, and I am likely to upset a number of people. However, I feel I must address this somewhere. So let’s dig in.
My wife and I have been watching Grey’s Anatomy over the last several months. We started watching it in season 1, and we have watched each episode consecutively. When you watch a show like this, the underlying worldview of the producers becomes evident. To put it bluntly, Grey’s is a liberal, left wing show, and it aims to influence its viewers to that side of the political spectrum. The show has highlighted several issues from the liberal perspective including the Black Lives Matter movement, the racial divides that exist even within the medical professions, women’s rights, the need to tear down the patriarchy etc. These issues are issues on which good Bible believing Christians disagree. There are solid cases to be made for a number of views in these issues.
However, the current issue Grey’s Anatomy is portraying is one on which there can be no disagreement among believers. The season I am currently watching occurs after the recent supreme court ruling to overturn of Roe vs. Wade. For those unfamiliar Roe vs. Wade is the historical supreme court decision which essentially made abortion legal throughout America. Grey’s Anatomy makes no apology for defending the right of women to have an abortion as part of their health care. There is one episode in which a young girl is given some pills to take to medically abort, and another episode in which a pregnancy is terminated via a procedure where the embryo is sucked out of the uterus. These episodes aim to show us that abortion is easy, painless and really no worse than getting blood taken. This is the position we are fed through our media.
However, we as believers in Jesus have no option but to reject these false claims. As a Christian there is no option but to condemn abortion as a practice. At least not if we take scripture seriously. So what does the Bible say?
God condemns murder
This should be no surprise to anyone who reads this. Exodus 20:13 clearly states “You shall not murder.” This is the sixth commandment, and one which Jesus intensifies in Matthew 5:21-22 where he says:
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
Here, Jesus intensifies the commandment by stating that even harboring anger or insulting others is akin to committing murder in one’s heart. This teaching underscores the principle that human life should be valued and honoured as something God values most highly.
God considers unborn babies to be of equal worth to human life
Many who read this may not realise this, but Scripture directly deals with this the value of unborn life. Consider Exodus 21:22-25.
22 “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. 23 But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”
This passage is a passage in which God provides, through Moses, instructions on how life in Israel is to work. This specific pericope shows us that when a miscarriage happens due to injury, the value of the unborn infant is worth the same as that of the man who caused the miscarriage to happen.
Scripture affirms the spirituality of unborn babies
Unborn babies are spiritual persons. I realise that this is not a common argument made against abortion, however it is a biblical truth. Unborn babies are spiritual persons. We see this when Elizabeth and Mary meet after both women had become pregnant. Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist, and Mary with Jesus.
Luke 1:41
“And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit”…
Luke 1:44
“For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”
It is important to note that yes, even though John the Baptist was especially anointed with the Holy Spirit, he was nevertheless a sinful human being. In that sense there was nothing to differentiate his spirituality from that of other unborn babies. And yet, even in his sinful state, this child consciously recognised Jesus. Now sure we aren’t all filled with the Spirit in the womb, but this passage nevertheless speaks to the spirituality of unborn children. Unborn babies are personal spiritual persons.
I have made this argument before, and my opponent then said, yes however their personhood is lesser than a fully formed baby. The argument is that since an unborn hasn’t fully formed their personhood is still developing. Therefore the mother’s fully formed personhood trumps the lesser personhood of the unborn child. Thus the mother’s choice trump’s the child’s right to life. And yet…
Scripture maintains that life begins at conception
The argument that personhood—or spiritual personhood—begins at conception is deeply rooted in Scripture. Several passages from the Bible show us this. Consider Psalm 139:13-16
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
This passage vividly describes God’s intimate involvement in our creation, even from the earliest stages of development in the womb. It emphasizes that God’s relationship with us starts before birth, recognising us as persons with a destiny and purpose right from conception.
Similarly the prophet Jeremiah is told in Jeremiah 1:5
“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.”
Here, God speaks to Jeremiah, showing that His knowledge and plans for Jeremiah’s life began even before his conception. This suggests that spiritual personhood, in God’s view, starts even before the body starts to take shape. Even in the Blastocyst of development if you will.
And again we see this in David’s great confessional psalm in Psalm 51:5
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
Here David, acknowledges that from the very moment of conception, human beings are enveloped in sin. This verse doesn’t mean that the act of conception is sinful, but rather that the human condition of sinfulness extends back to the earliest point of biological existence. Our spiritual personhood is established even from conception.
So taken together, it is clear from the Bible that God values the life of unborn babies and that killing an unborn child is the same thing in his eyes as killing another fully grown person. Scripture is also clear that spiritual personhood begins right at conception and that the argument that an unborn isn’t a person (or less of a person) is Biblically false.
The only natural conclusion we can draw from this is that the purposeful removal of a pregnancy, whether by pill, suction or operation, is murder.
What about the arguments for it?
There are normally three arguments raised in favour of abortion:
Personal Freedom:
By far the most common argument is that a woman should have control over her own body. “My body, my choice”. Now scripture is not against personal freedom. In fact there are a number of passages where faithful believers went against the authorities over them on the basis of personal freedom of choice. However, Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that our bodies are not our own, they are temples of the Holy Spirit, redeemed by Christ. Decisions about our bodies are not solely personal matters. They are spiritual matters. And if as we have discovered above, unborn children are in fact fully equal in value members of society, then what about their body, their choice?
One very insightful catholic commentator, Peter Kreeft, commented that “Abortion is the Anti-Christ’s demonic parody of the Eucharist. That is why it uses the same holy words, ‘This is my body’”. Kreeft is right. The “My body, my choice” argument says in essence, “I offer up this child, so I can live”. But on the cross Jesus offered up his body, so we can live. This is somewhat of a tangent, but if you want to read an excellent article on the deep unholy sacramental aspect of abortion, I can highly recommend Zephram Foster’s article “Profane Sacrament”. You can access it here,
Quality of life:
The second most common argument suggests that abortion is justifiable if the child’s quality of life is expected to be poor. However, the Bible teaches that God has a purpose for every life, regardless of the circumstances of birth. Who are we to make a judgement on the value of a life lived in poverty or difficulty? How much arrogance and hubris we have when we say we know that this child’s life is not worth living! This comes from our very wealthy western mindset that all suffering is necessarily evil and bad. But suffering is not necessarily bad, or evil. It is just uncomfortable. Who are we to decide that someone simply does not have the right to even have the opportunity to overcome their circumstances? Can you really know that?
Cases of rape and abuse:
The third most common argument says that abortion is justified when a woman has been raped or abused. Here I have to pause and acknowledge that these are deeply tragic circumstances. The argument here is often that the trauma of carrying a child from such an act can be too great a burden. Or that every time the mother will see the child, she will be reminded of her abuser. In some ways I can understand this. But it is rarely the case that one evil act can be wiped out by another evil act. Sin heaped on sin does not equal righteousness. The Bible teaches us that God is in the business of redemption and that he creates beauty out of even the darkest situations. We see this most powerfully on the cross of Jesus, where Jesus dies in the darkest and evilest of ways. But out of that darkness, God has created light and life.
Yes, rape and abuse cases are complicated and traumatic, so these cases require the church the stand up and support the mothers to be in order to help create this beauty. The church has not always done this well and we can and should do better.
What if I have already had an abortion?
For those who have had an abortion, the message of the Gospel is the same message it has always been. There is forgiveness and healing available through Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all our sins. Even grievous ones. One of my favourite psalms is psalm 51, quoted above. The story goes that King David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of one of his faithful warriors. She became pregnant and so to cover up the adultery, David arranged to have Bathsheba’s husband killed. Eventually David’s sin is exposed, and his response is written down for us to learn from. Psalm 51 is his prayer to God for forgiveness. And God does forgive him and restores him. That is the God we serve.
Yes, abortion is murder. Yes, abortion may well be a profane sacrament. Yes, none of the arguments put forward to defend abortion hold up when we think about them scripturally.
But if you have had an abortion, the beauty of the gospel is that the same God who forgave David, still forgives the sins of those who come to him in faith, because of Jesus’ work on the cross.
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