Introduction

With the United States Supreme Court decision in 2022, abortion is now at the front of the headlines.  However, what does Scripture say about abortion?

Also, if you have had an abortion in the past, does Scripture say that there is anything you can do now?

That Pre-born Child Is Alive!

And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. (Genesis 25:21-22)

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139:13-16)[1]

Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. (Jeremiah 1:4-5)

And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. (Luke 1:39-44)

Greek word βρέφος is the word translated to "babe" both times (Luke 1:41 and 1:44) in this passage.  This word translates to "baby" or "infant."

Some liberal churches claim that only these individuals were set apart, and therefore made alive before birth, while the rest of us were not.  Other than Jesus, Adam, and Eve, we all come into the world the same way, and become alive at the same point. Yes, there is a small difference with in vitro fertilization; however, once implantation occurs in the womb, everything is the same following implantation. Unfortunately, people exist, even church leaders, that will deny the truth regardless of how many facts we give them.  If your church denies these facts, you may be attending the wrong church.  See my page on Churches to Avoid.

The 6th Commandment

Thou shalt not kill. (Exodus 20:13)

What About Rape or Incest?

Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,... Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD. If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,... Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like,... That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity. Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. (Ezekiel 18:4-5,9-10,13-14,17-20)

For an abortion due to rape or incest, this constitutes killing the child for the sins of the father.  The passage above shows that the child shall not bear the iniquity of the father.  I recognize that for many women, this may not seem fair, having to bear the child when she did not want sex with the man. I am aware that pregnancy is often painful; you can thank the first woman to walk the planet  (Eve) for that:

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. (Genesis 3:16)

What About the Pregnancy Endangering the Woman's Life or Health?

This website will not discuss endangering the health of the woman, as all pregnancies do.

As for a pregnancy endangering the life of the woman (for example, a tubal or ectopic pregnancy), abortion would clearly come under self-defense; and the woman may abort the pregnancy under this circumstance.

Translation Issue

If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. (Exodus 21:22-25)

Some English Bible translations have mistranslated this passage to state that if the woman has a miscarriage, which would make it seem as though the pre-born child is less than human.  In fact, some abortion facilities may read such mis-translated passages to women.

The Hebrew is וְיָצְא֣וּ which translates to "so that prematurely" and יְלָדֶ֔יהָ which translates to "she gives birth."  In other words, the correct translation is a premature birth of the child, not a miscarriage or death.  Yes, advances in modern medical technology allows us to save more preemie births today; however, preemies could still survive, even in the 1500 BC epoch.

Do Not Have an Abortion in Order to Hide Another Sin!

An evangelical Christian woman who has become pregnant outside of marriage may consider an abortion to hide the fact that she has been fooling around.  This is not going to fool God, committing a second sin in order to hide the first one.  King David tried something similar (although it was not abortion per se); it did not end well for him.

King David and Bathsheba

And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child...And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die. And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were. And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also. (2 Samuel 11:2-5,14-17)

You Can't Hide It from God

And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. (2 Samuel 12:1-12)

What if You Have Had an Abortion?

Perhaps you have already had an abortion.  Yes, God can forgive you of the sin:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

This, of course, does not mean to go ahead and have an abortion, then confess it and receive forgiveness:

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (Romans 6:1-2)

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. (Romans 6:14-15)

See also my page on Licentiousness.

You May Have Consequences

But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. (Colossians 3:25)

You may have consequences, such as a perforated uterus, sterility, or other issues.  While God will forgive the sin, He often still leaves us with consequences of the sin.  See also my page on consequences of sin.

You Can't Bring It Back

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

You May Be Able to Counsel Others Who Have Committed the Same Sin

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

You may need to receive this counseling early on; and this is certainly okay.  Later on, you may be able to give this counseling.

The Fate of the Baby

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings. (Isaiah 7:14-16)

This is the so called age of accountability.  A pre-born child obviously would not know the Gospel as far as how to go to heaven.  The pre-born child will go to heaven, just without any rewards.  Of course, this does not mean to abort the pregnancy to guarantee heaven for the baby!

Footnotes

[1] All scripture references are from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. Please see my about page for why I chose this translation.↩