What the Bible says about Abortion

What does the Bible say about abortion? Is it murder?

According to Biblical scholars, the three strongest pieces of evidence that abortion is murder are Psalm 139:13-16, Jeremiah 1:5, and Exodus 21:22-25.

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

– Psalm 139:13, English Standard Version

The speaker in the psalm was being formed by God prior to birth. When did the parts become whole? At the moment of birth? At the moment of conception?

This question deepens as the psalm continues.

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

– Psalm 139:15-16, English Standard Version

The Bible refers to times before the womb, perhaps even to time before the sun shone. Long before the speaker in the psalm was conceived or developed a body, or acquired thought, or looked into his mother's eyes, God knew he would someday be a human being.

But what if God knows instead that a potential child will not be born? That could happen for a lot of reasons, right? The potential parents don't fall in love, or they decide not to have kids, or the conception that would have formed that particular child doesn't happen, or there is a miscarriage, or the mother chooses to have an abortion. Surely God foresees those cases too. Does God consider them human deaths? The psalm doesn't say.

Let us turn to Jeremiah.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.

– Jeremiah 1:5, English Standard Version

God foresaw that Jeremiah would be born and would serve as a prophet. God foresaw this even before Jeremiah was formed in the womb. What if God foresees a conception that will not lead to a live birth, let alone a prophet? Does God consecrate the fetus in that case? Jeremiah doesn't say.

Lastly, there is Exodus.

When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, ....

– Exodus 21:22-25, English Standard Version

Does “her children came out” mean miscarriage or does it mean premature birth? When this passage talks about harm, is it speaking of harm to the woman, the child, or either one? It is unclear. Some translations make one interpretation and some another. The above translation is from the English Standard Version, which aimed for word-for-word accuracy. The Good News Translation, which aimed for thought-for-thought accuracy, is this:

If some men are fighting and hurt a pregnant woman so that she loses her child, but she is not injured in any other way, the one who hurt her is to be fined whatever amount the woman's husband demands, subject to the approval of the judges. But if the woman herself is injured, the punishment shall be life for life, eye for eye, ....

– Exodus 21:22-25, Good News Translation

Whichever translation one studies, it is clear that it is wrong to fight near a pregnant woman, because she might be accidentally hit. In some translations, accidentally killing a fetus is considered an injury to the mother, worthy of paying a fine, but not to be treated as murder. But is it wrong for a pregnant woman of her own free will to have an abortion? Exodus doesn't say.

According to Biblical scholars, these are the three most relevant passages about abortion. What about the New Testament? Some think Mathew 18 verse 14 is relevant.

See that you do not despise one of these little ones. ... If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ... So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

– Mathew 18 10:14, English Standard Version

Might “these little ones” refer to unborn children? It seems not, because leading up to this passage, Jesus is directly referring to children who were plainly there in the place where he was speaking:

And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

– Mathew 18 2:4, English Standard Version

No pregnant woman is mentioned.

I'm not trying to cherry-pick or twist words or play devil's advocate. I'm just honestly trying and failing to see the answer that some think is there.

Is abortion murder? The psalm doesn't say. Jeremiah doesn't say. Exodus doesn't say. Jesus doesn't say.

If God wanted the Bible to declare once and for all that abortion is murder, the Bible simply would, wouldn't it?

Then I ask you, brother, sister, wonderful fellow human being,

I can read, but I'm no Biblical scholar or literalist. I relate to the Bible through a spiritual tradition that encourages curiosity and exchange of views. We like to stimulate and elevate thought, not score culture war points.

If you'd like, drop me an email. Let me know what you believe and how you came to believe it. If you envision a real but better world where the question of abortion has been resolved harmoniously, what does it look like? How do we get there from here?

Peace,
Pop Winch