Abortion
What does the Bible Say?
This article is one of a series of articles introduced by Flawed Reasons to Believe in God. If you’re new to the series, you should read the Introduction before (or after) reading the material below.
I’ve read the Bible from cover to cover, reading for comprehension. It was doing that which caused me to abandon my belief in God, end preparation for the ministry, and drop out of Bible College. I can tell you that the word “abortion” does not appear anywhere in the Bible. There were words meaning abortion in ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Humans practiced abortion long before the time of Jesus and had words for the practice, but the Bible is silent on the subject.
However, readers turning to the Bible will find some passages that seem to support the pro-life stance and others pointing to abortion rights.
Abortion foes may draw support from Psalm 139:14, which says, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” There are similar quotes scattered throughout the Old and New Testaments. Jeremiah 1:4–5 may offer the most relevant of the list. It reads, “Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘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.’” Exodus 20:13 reads…
