This question has undoubtedly been in the minds of many people down through time but is brought to the forefront with the 2022 decision by the Supreme Court. The question could be approached from different perspectives in which human reasoning, culture, situational ethics, and financial status would all influence our thinking. In this article, our intent is to approach the answer strictly from a biblical perspective. The Bible is the only unchanging standard of right and wrong. While the Bible doesn’t specifically mention abortion, we can understand from Scriptures how God views life in the womb.
According to the Bible, all life originates from God. Human life is unique in that man was created in God’s likeness and image. In Gen. 2:7, we read that God breathed into man the breath of life and man became a living soul. God originated that breath of life, and it has been perpetuated through generations of humanity. Job says in Job 33:4 “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” Because God is the originator of human life, He has given it special protection with the Sixth Commandment: Thou shalt not kill. Ex. 20:13
God’s view of human life in the womb is revealed in the calling of Jeremiah to be a prophet.
Jer.1:4,5. 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.
God had a plan for Jeremiah even before conception. Since Jeremiah was a person in the womb, to destroy him by abortion would have been taking of innocent human life. While Jeremiah received a special call from God to be a prophet, we have reason to believe that God has a similar view of each unborn child as conceived and formed in the womb.
We get another view of God’s interest in and involvement with a human embryo in Psalm 139. Verses 13 through 16 depict God’s observation of David as a human person developing in progressive stages within his mother’s womb. The touching language makes it evident that this was a person in the womb that God paid special attention to. Is it possible that this psalm gives us a glimpse of God’s interest in each of us as well?
One final example from Scripture mentions Mary’s pregnancy with the Holy Child Jesus. It was said of the virgin Mary in Mat. 1:23 that she would be with child of the Holy Ghost. It appears that, at the moment of conception by the Holy Ghost, Mary was with child. It is evident that after conception has taken place there is a separate entity within the womb of the mother, and dependent upon the mother. Clearly that entity is a child, regardless of its age and size, and is entitled to all the care, protection, and nourishment that the mother can provide. We therefore conclude that taking the life of an unborn person in the womb at any stage of development breaks the heart of a loving Creator God as well as the Sixth Commandment: Thou shalt not kill.