What Is the Bible’s Position on Abortion?
The Bible’s answer
The Bible does not use the word “abortion” in the sense of an induced expulsion of a human fetus. However, many Bible verses provide God’s view of human life, including that of an unborn child.
Life is a gift from God. (Genesis 9:6; Psalm 36:9) He considers all life to be precious, including the life of a child in the womb. So if someone intentionally kills an unborn child, that amounts to murder.
According to God’s Law given to the Israelites, if two men fight and one of them injures a pregnant woman, and she delivers birth prematurely without suffering a fatality, the offender is required to pay the damages the lady’s husband has awarded him, and he must do so through the judges. But in the event of a fatality, you must sacrifice life for life. Exodus 21:22–23
When does human life begin?
God views human life as beginning at conception. In his Word, the Bible, God consistently portrays an unborn child as a distinct person. Consider some examples indicating that God does not draw a distinction between the life of a baby in the womb and one that has been born.
- Under divine inspiration, King David said to God: “Your eyes even saw me as an embryo.” (Psalm 139:16) God considered David to be a person even before he was born.
- Additionally, God knew that he would have a special purpose for the prophet Jeremiah before Jeremiah’s birth. God said to him: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I sanctified you. I made you a prophet to the nations.”—Jeremiah 1:5.
- The Bible writer Luke, a physician, used the same Greek word to describe an unborn baby as he did to describe a newborn baby.—Luke 1:41; 2:12, 16.
Will God forgive someone who has had an abortion?
Abortion survivors are eligible for God’s forgiveness. They need not feel overburdened with guilt if they have since come to accept God’s perspective on life. “Jehovah is gracious and compassionate. He has removed our transgressions as far from us as the morning is from the dusk.” (Psalm 103:8-12) All who truly repent of their past sins, including abortion, will receive forgiveness from Jehovah. —Psalm 86:5.
If the mother or the child’s life is in danger, is abortion still wrong?
In view of what the Bible says about the life of an unborn child, a person would not be justified in having an abortion because of a potential health risk to mother or child.
What about the rare circumstance in which a medical emergency during childbirth requires the mother to choose between saving her own life and saving the life of the child? In such a scenario, all involved would have to decide for themselves whose life to attempt to rescue.
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