What Does the Bible Really Say About Abortion?

Thirteen Things You Need to Know

Abortion has throttled back to the center of public discourse, which means it will also re-open old wounds and fears on all sides of the political and church aisle.

We must not avoid the conversation, but we also must be wise and informed.

Because you are going to spend the entirety of this article trying to figure out where I stand, let me just be clear from the outset: I don’t know where I stand on abortion.

I stand as a staunch advocate for life at all ages and stages. It’s a difficult argument for me to overcome, perhaps because I have been so indoctrinated by my upbringing that I have difficulty seeing anything else. but I also understand that the issues many women face in the decision are far more complicated than I could ever fully comprehend.

So in moments where I can’t find peace or a path forward on a topic, I often turn to my faith.

As Christians like me return to the conversation on abortion, it is important for us to know more about the topic than two Bible verses (“You shall not kill” and “You knit me together in my mother’s womb”). These are strong and important verses, but they are not the full picture.

Biblically, the situation is complex, and people of strong and vibrant faith find themselves on opposite sides of this topic… and a few Christians, like me, are adrift somewhere in the messy middle.

So, hopefully, we can find a bit of unity here, and I hope that the following thoughts will be an opportunity to reduce the rhetoric and increase productive dialogue among people of faith.

My goal here is not to argue right or wrong, but I hope to instead offer some additional information to consider on your own journey of discovery:

Surprising Things I’ve Discovered About the Bible and Abortion:

• The Bible does NOT explicitly say whether abortion is right or wrong. Period. Nor is there any law in the Jewish or Christian texts which forbid abortion.
  

• Abortion was an option during biblical times. We have an ancient prescription for abortion from Egypt that is dated to the 16th Century BCE. That means we must seriously consider why the Bible doesn’t explicitly condemn it, as it does many other minor concerns (like eating shellfish or mixing fabrics).
  

• To our knowledge, the only people in the ancient Near East who explicitly condemned abortion were not the Israelites but the Assyrians. You may remember the Assyrians from the story of Jonah, who ran from taking God’s message to them (Ninevah was their capital) as they were primarily known for their cruelty in war rather than for their care for human life.
  

• There seems to be an "Abortion Recipe" in Numbers 5. This ritual act would induce miscarriage in certain situations, and it is carried out by the Priest.
  

• Abortion most likely happened during biblical times, or at the least, was a possibility. Jeremiah rebukes God for not aborting him before birth: "He should have killed me in my mother’s body. He should have made my mother my grave" [Jer.20:16-17]. We might call that a miscarriage... but if God takes action to do it, it is abortion.
  

• Exodus 21:12-27 contains a portion of the Mosaic Law that, interestingly, does not define the unborn as a person, placing them in a different category. In the passage: Strike and kill a free person, you get the death penalty. Strike and kill an unborn fetus, you get a fine. Because there's no expectation that the person who caused the miscarriage is liable for murder, Jewish scholars overwhelmingly argue/believe this proves a fetus is not considered a separate person or soul. 
  

• The Jewish people (who wrote most of the Bible, let's remember) overwhelmingly see abortion as morally acceptable. Jewish tradition reads the same biblical texts but sees a 180-degree opposite outcome. While Evangelical Christians use the Bible to argue that a fetus represents a human life, which makes abortion murder, Jews don’t believe that fetuses have souls until they take their first breath outside the womb. Therefore, under a Jewish reading of scripture, ending a pregnancy is not an offense against God.
  

• A huge majority of Christians (even Evangelicals) supported Roe v. Wade. It wasn't until 1979 (a full six years after Roe) that evangelical leaders—led by conservative activist and co-founder of the Moral Majority Paul Weyrich—seized on abortion, not for moral reasons, but to build a base to deny President Jimmy Carter (a strong Christian) a second term.
  

• Many religious leaders and heroic figures supported abortion rights through Roe v. Wade:
  

  • Southern Baptist Convention, 1971: Passes resolution calling for the legalization of abortion, saying they would "...work for legislation that will allow the possibility of abortion under such conditions as rape, incest, clear evidence of severe fetal deformity, and carefully ascertained evidence of the likelihood of damage to the emotional, mental, and physical health of the mother." They affirmed this stance again, post-Roe, in 1974 and again in 1976.
    

  • W.A. Criswell (most famous fundamentalist and Pastor of First Baptist, Dallas) when Roe v. Wade was released: “I have always felt that it was only after a child was born and had a life separate from its mother that it became an individual person,… and it has always, therefore, seemed to me that what is best for the mother and for the future should be allowed.”
    

  • Ronald Reagan, Governor of California: In 1967, signed the most progressive abortion law in the country into acceptance.
    

• 60% of Protestant Christians believe that abortion should be legal in most or all cases (via: PEW Research)., i.e. Christians strongly support abortion rights. Conversely “Evangelical” Christians, a subset of “Protestant Christians” do not support legal abortion (63% oppose).
  

• Within Jewish tradition, there is a concept called tikkun olam—which is Hebrew for “repair the world.” It is used as a call to action by acts of kindness and service that help heal the world. The Jewish tradition generally teaches that existing life should take precedence over potential life, and a woman’s life and her pain should take precedence over a fetus.
  

• The Talmud—a Jewish text containing centuries of Jewish religious thought, debate, and discussion—explains that for the first 40 days of a woman’s pregnancy, the fetus is considered “mere fluid” and it is considered to be an extension (not separate) part of the mother until birth. The baby is only considered to have a nefesh—Hebrew for “soul” or “spirit”—once its head has emerged, and not before. The Mishnah (a collection of laws based on oral tradition, written down about 200 CE), actually specifically allows for abortion in the case of hard, potentially life-threatening situations, as the life of the mother takes precedence.
  

• Aside from Numbers 5 (the abortion/miscarriage recipe), Exodus 21 (the fetus is not a person), and Jeremiah 20 (Jeremiah’s abortion request), the Bible does not mention abortion in any way.
  

  • Passages such as the 5th Commandment (“You shall not kill”) and Psalm 139:13-16 (“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.”) must be taken into consideration in light of these other passages, not in exclusion of them, if we are to be biblically honest and consistent in our application of scripture.

In short: The Bible neither affirms a right to life for the unborn nor a woman’s right to choose.

But lest we forget, it DOES include many other statements, such as:

• “Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.” — ZECHARIAH 7:9-10
  

• “Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but helping the poor honors him.” — PROVERBS 14:31
  

• “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” — PROVERBS 31:8-9
  

• “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” — 1 JOHN 3:17-18

In the end, we must resist being triggered by this topic as must as is possible. We must remember that, for many, this topic is deeply personal.

Many Christians have had abortions, and you might be surprised who among your friends is counted among that number. Some had no choice at the time (or felt they had no choice) but feel regret and guilt now. Others feel no regret and believe it was the right thing to do.

Other Christians choose to go to term, and give the baby away or keep it no matter the cost. Other Christians are that baby, alive because of that choice.

Perhaps, the best thing we can do is bring a listening ear and compassion to these conversation, rather than a Bible verse or two lobbed like a grenade over a very real and present theological divide.

What would Jesus do?