The argument for and against abortion all boils down to one question; whether the foetus can be considered human or just a clump of cells. Some argue that abortion should be allowed up till the point where the heart and other organs are fully formed while some argue that life begins at conception and abortion at any stage is murder.
The Bible does not expressly give a judgement on this topic. However, there are biblical principles and scripture that both sides use to support their argument.
Biblical arguments against abortion
- One of the most quoted scripture is Jeremiah 1:5 ~ “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.” People often take this as a sign that every foetus in the womb has been called, set apart by God and given a purpose on earth. If God set apart Jeremiah before he was born, doesn’t that then mean that he was human whilst in the womb and not just a clump of cells? This argument is further supported by Isaiah 49:1~ 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.
- Another scripture used to support this argument is Leviticus 17:11 which says “for the life of the body is in its blood.” According to medical research, blood vessels form within two weeks after fertilisation and the heart starts pumping the blood shortly after that.
- Exodus 21:22-23 ~ “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life. This argument behind this scripture is that the bible insinuates that if the woman or the baby in her womb dies due to the baby coming out early, then life must be taken for the life lost meaning that God gives special consideration towards pregnancies. If a pregnancy matters to God, then it should matter to us.
Biblical argument for abortion
- There aren’t many arguments for abortion but one passage of scripture that gets brought up is Genesis 2:7 ~ “Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” This scripture is used to argue that since the first man did not become a “living person” until he started breathing, babies should not be considered living beings either until they come out of the womb and take their first breath since babies do not breathe in the womb.
