The Hippocratic Oath, which predates the time of Christ by about four centuries, includes the following phrase:

I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such counsel, furthermore, I will not give to a woman an instrument to produce abortion. With purity and with holiness I will pass my life and practice my art.

For the greater part of history those both inside and outside the church agreed that abortion was wrong. Today there is less unanimity – both in and out. In fact, many mainline churches favor abortion in general.

The Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUSA) historically opposed abortion. As recently as 1965 it issued a report which condemned the practice. However by the early 1970's the PCUSA began to change its language, speaking of abortion as a “personal choice” and a “responsible decision.” The PCUSA today actively supports the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice which is dedicated to promoting abortion in the Christian community.

The United Church of Christ (UCC) has strongly supported the legalization of abortion since 1971. The UCC opposed the proposed Partial Birth Abortion (PBA) ban to the point of joining the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARRAL) in a statement affirming President Clinton’s veto of the PBA Ban Act in 1996. The UCC has also called for the church to support abortion in any national health care bill.

The United Methodist Church (UMC) began to view abortion as a “choice” in the early 1970's. The UMC position in favour of abortion has been so strong that two of its institutions helped organize and are now affiliated with the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights (RCAR). For many years RCAR used office space in the United Methodist Building which is located across the street from the U.S. Supreme Court. In both 1996 and 1997 the United Methodist Church publicly supported President Clinton’s veto of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.

Is abortion really an ethical matter in question? Can we genuinely say that it is unequivocally wrong?

To answer those questions we will first consider the Bible’s teaching on the matter in general and then turn to some reasons that are oftentimes given for the permissibility of abortion in some cases.

1. What Does the Bible Say About Abortion?⤒🔗

There are four important areas of biblical teaching that direct us in our understanding of the permissibility of abortion.

First, the Bible teaches that life originates with God (Genesis 1:26, Psalm 139:12-16) and may therefore be taken by human beings in rare and restricted circumstances (e.g. capital punishment, war, self-defense). All other forms of killing are considered murder (Exodus 20:13; cf. Leviticus 35:15-18).

Second, the Bible teaches that human life is fundamentally different from all other forms of life (Genesis 1:27). Therefore we are allowed to take the life of an animal, but not a human (Leviticus 24:21). It is because we are created in the image of God Himself that we may speak in this sense of the sanctity of life.

Third, the Bible recognizes the personhood of a child from the very earliest ages. The child is not his mother. Nor is his mother the child. (Luke 1:41, 44; Exodus 21:22, 23). To say that a fetus is simply tissue is to miss this fundamental and biblically recognized difference.

Fourth, any discussion about abortion must include the acknowledgment that our bodies do not belong to ourselves to do with as we please. One individual (the woman) may not remove another individual (the child) from her body simply because it pleases her to do so. Her body does not belong to her, it belongs to God (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20; Romans 14:8).

If we take these four strands of biblical teaching together we must come to the conclusion that abortion has been and continues to be contrary to God’s will. Although it is legal in our nation and approved by many with the title Christian, it is still ethically abhorrent.

2. How About Some Exceptions?←⤒🔗

But we live in a world that is often complicated. So it is said that we must be careful to make some exceptions for abortion even though the practice in general is not allowed by the Bible. Three of those proposed exceptions (with considerations) follow.

2.1 In the Case of Rape or Incest←↰⤒🔗

Allowing abortion for cases of rape or incest effectively blames the pre-born for another’s (i.e. the father) crime. Killing a pre-born because his father is a rapist is no more justifiable than killing the rapist’s mother or father (perhaps even less so, in that, plausibly, a parent could have in some way influenced, caused or contributed to the son’s actions.) The rapists alone should be punished. Punishing the pre-born makes him a scapegoat and the second victim. Additionally, the circumstances of a pre-born child’s conception should not modify, let alone negate, his or her right to life. In other words, the pre-born baby has a right to life regardless of the circumstances under which he or she was conceived.

2.2 In the Case of Fetal Deformity←↰⤒🔗

Allowing a fetal deformity exception for abortion is an extension of the utilitarian, quality-of-life ethic. In other words, some lives are not worth living. Not only does this violate God’s will, but it raises the question about which individuals are not worthy of life (e.g. a child with a cleft palate). Allowing abortion for “defects” turns genetic screening into a “search and destroy mission.” Further, genetic screening is not 100% accurate. The child believed to have a deformity may very well be born perfectly healthy.

2.3 To Protect the Life of the Mother←↰⤒🔗

In the event that the mother’s life is threatened, we must remember that there are two patients involved. Every possible effort must be made to save both.

There are virtually no conditions that threaten the mother’s life in which abortion is a medically recognized treatment. In some conditions (e.g., an ectopic pregnancy or a cancerous uterus) a treatment may be required which indirectly kills the pre-born. But in such cases, the treatment does not legally or morally qualify as an abortion. When removing part of a cancerous uterus, for example, the intent is to save the mother and at the same time save the child if at all possible. Thus even if the child dies, the treatment is still fully justified. The death of the child was never desired, and it is avoided if at all possible. In contrast, the intent of an abortion is always the same: to kill the preborn child.

We might compare the case of when the life of the preborn child is unintentionally taken in treatment of the mother to the separation of conjoined twins. It is never the intent in the separation of twins in such a condition to take the life of one to preserve the other. It is to preserve both lives if at all possible. Therefore the death that results is not ethically culpable.

Listen to Dr. Alan Guttmacher, pro-abortionist and former head of Planned Parenthood, speaking in 1967: “Today it is possible for almost any patient to be brought through pregnancy alive, unless she suffers from a fatal illness such as cancer or leukemia, and if so, abortion would be unlikely to prolong, much less save life.” The blessing of living some forty years after Dr. Guttmacher spoke is that a situation in which the life of an unborn child would be taken to protect the life of the mother is even more remote now than it was then. This is one of those cases when the vast amount of smoke involved with this exception results from a surprising small (and perhaps nonexistent) fire.

In summary we must say there are no biblically defensible situations in which the life of a pre-born child may be intentionally taken.

Questions:←⤒🔗

1. Why do you think that some churches have come to the conclusion that abortion is not only allowable, but to be defended? What theology lies behind the approval of the practice?

2. Does the fact that abortion (as we know it) was not available at the time of the Bible’s writing weaken the effectiveness of the Bible’s teaching?

3. What can we do to resist the practice of abortion in our time? Write letters? Demonstrate? Physically prevent abortionists from doing their work? Encourage our young people to become doctors?