discipled living

The Evangelical Case Against Abortion

The Evangelical Christian position offers different Biblical foundations for its position on abortion. Specifically, Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 1:41 and 2:12; Psalm 137:9 .

According to Evangelicals life begins at conception, meaning that abortion at any stage of the pregnancy is murder, or “killing an innocent.”

According to The LifeLeague, a Pro-life organization founded in 1999 there are seven (7) Biblical principles which establish their stance on abortion.

[1] By identifying living persons with their foetus (i.e. the unborn child) in Psalm 51:5, Psalm 139:13-16, Jeremiah 1:4-5, Luke 1:31-35 and Luke 1:41-44; the Bible teaches that the unborn child is a human being with inalienable rights to full personhood.

[2] By using the Hebrew words for ‘infant’ and ‘adult’, God identifies the foetus as a ‘child’ in Exodus 21:22, 1 st Kings 3:17 and Ecclesiastes 11:5. God looks upon the unborn as His children, whom He loves.

[3] Scripture places a strong emphasis upon concepts like: continuity of the race, children being a blessing from God, and, the taking of personal responsibility in sexual affairs.

[4] We find a high regard for life amongst the Jews of the Old Testament and Jesus’ day. In Psalm 139:13-16, Ecclesiastes 11:51, Jeremiah 1:5 and John 10:11 - the sanctity of life is taught, thus providing a safeguard against those who would seek to cheapen it. The Jews of Jesus’ time always understood abortion to be wrong, for example, Josephus, a famous Pharisee historian and thinker of that time, said; “The law forbids women either to cause, or to make away with the foetus; a woman convicted of this is regarded as infanticide”.

[5] In Exodus 21:22-23 and Job 10:8ff - the Bible teaches ‘the quality of life’. It does this in a way that ensures human life can never be measured in a manner that labels the deficient, deprived or unwanted as disposable.

[6] In Leviticus 19:14, Deuteronomy 27:18, Psalm 82:3-4 and Matthew 25:40 - the Bible teaches special care for the weak, thus protecting their rights and security.

[7] In Exodus 20:13, commonly known as 'the 6th commandment' - the Bible prohibits murder.

The above entry has been edited for length and references to the pro-choice movement position.

The LifeLeague originated in The United Kingdom and now boasts offices in Scotland, England and Ulster and partnerships with like-minded groups in Estonia, Malta, Crimea, Hungary, Romania and India.

The moral imperative of Faith based anti-abortion and Pro-life is rooted in its interpretation of and commitment to the “Truth” of the inspired scriptures and its traditions. The grounds for Pro-Life and Pro-Choice views are both compelling and persuasive.

Next Week: Faith Divided Over Abortion