Biblical Fact

Q:  Where does the Bible say that abortion is murder?  Where does the Bible say that life begins at conception?

A:  I didn't find many passages about abortion.  Take a look at what I've got, and decide for yourself. 

Pro-Choice Bible passages

The Pro-Choice movement doesn’t usually make biblical arguments.  But I found a few verses that support a Pro-Choice stance, so let’s take a look. 

Exodus 21:22
When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined what the woman’s husband demands, paying as much as the judges determine.

This is the only Bible verse I found that talks about ending a pregnancy.  That surprised me.  I've been led to believe that the Bible had a lot of them.  

Compare that verse to other laws in the same chapter: 

Exodus 21:12
Whoever strikes a person mortally shall be put to death.

While some people say that ending a pregnancy is the same as murder, Exodus disagrees.  It orders the death penalty for murder, but only a fine for causing a miscarriage. 

What does Exodus say about accidental death?

Exodus 21:13-14
If it was not premeditated, but came about by an act of God, then I will appoint for you a place to which the killer may flee.  But if someone willfully attacks and kills another by treachery, you shall take the killer from my altar for execution. 

A person who causes an accidental death is called a “killer,“ and has to flee to avoid being killed in revenge.  Exodus doesn’t condemn these attempts at revenge; it just helps the killer avoid them.  So Exodus says an accidental murder is much worse than causing a miscarriage. 

But a miscarriage caused by people fighting is not a random “act of God.”  The fighting caused the miscarriage.  Wouldn't the fighters would be punished more severely than someone who kills by accident?  But Exodus assigns a much lighter punishment.  

Consider the following, from the same chapter:

Exodus 21:15-17
Whoever strikes father or mother shall be put to death.  Whoever kidnaps a person, whether that person has been sold or is still held in possession, shall be put to death.  Whoever curses father or mother shall be put to death.

That’s three more death penalty crimes from Exodus.  And then, several chapters later, there’s this: 

Exodus 35:2
Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy sabbath of solemn rest to the Lord; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. 

Exodus – a legal text – is clear.  Causing a miscarriage is not even close to murder.  It's not punished as seriously as striking your parents, cursing your parents, kidnapping, or working on the Sabbath.  It is not as serious as an accidental killing. 

For causing a miscarriage, Exodus makes no mention of killers, or killing, or murder, or loss of human life.  According to Exodus, the loss is suffered only by the father, who can be compensated for it.  Exodus says the father can demand payment, and the judge decides if the demand is reasonable.

Exodus also says that the husband decides the level of loss, not the government.  If the husband didn’t want the pregnancy, he would make no demand.  If he made no demand, then there would be no crime, no court case, and no reason for the government to get involved. 

So I'm counting this passage as one for the Pro-Choice side. 

Now let’s look at the next one I found:

Leviticus 27:1-7
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:  Speak to the people of Israel and say to them:  When a person makes an explicit vow to the Lord concerning the equivalent for a human being, the equivalent for a male shall be:  from twenty to sixty years of age the equivalent shall be fifty shekels of silver by the sanctuary shekel.  If the person is a female, the equivalent is thirty shekels.  If the age is from five to twenty years of age, the equivalent is twenty shekels for a male and ten shekels for a female.  If the age is from one month to five years, the equivalent for a male is five shekels of silver, and for a female the equivalent is three shekels of silver.  And if the person is sixty years old or over, then the equivalent for a male is fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels.

This list excludes infants less than one month old, which I don’t understand.  It values women less than men, which I don’t understand.  And it excludes unborn babies – something it wouldn’t do if God, Moses, and the Israelites thought that life begins at conception.

Here’s another passage that also excludes unborn babies, and infants less than one month old: 

Numbers 3:14-15
And the Lord said to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, “Number the sons of Levi, by fathers’ houses and by families; every male from a month old and upward you shall number.”

If they wanted an accurate number of the sons of Levi, wouldn’t they also count the pregnant women, and figure that about half of them would give birth to boys?  I think they would if they believed that life began at conception. 

Pro-Life Bible Passages

I found two Pro-Life passages, and here’s the best one:

Psalm 139
For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.  In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. 

The only problem is, while Exodus is a legal text, Psalms is a collection of songs.  So Psalm 139 could be talking about when life begins, but it could also be a musical celebration of the miracle of birth.  Besides, no matter how wonderfully made the unborn baby is, Exodus still says that causing its miscarriage is only a problem if the father decides it is.  But even though it's weaker, I'm still counting it.  

Here’s the other one, and it’s from Job.  All of Chapter Three consists of Job cursing the day he was born, and includes this:

Job 3
“Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night that said, ‘A man-child is conceived.’ ... “Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? ... or why was I not buried like a stillborn child, like an infant that never sees the light?

My impression is that he is speaking figuratively, expressing his despair in the strongest way possible, and isn’t taking a stance on abortion.  But he does talk about the night of conception, so I’m counting it as support for ‘life begins at conception.’ 

Some Passages that Don't Help Us 

There are several Bible passages that shouldn’t be used in the abortion argument, but sometimes people use them anyway.  Let’s go to Deuteronomy, and address one of the most important verses in this debate.  

Deuteronomy 5:17
You shall not murder.

This surprises me already.  I always thought it read, “you shall not kill.”  But my NRSV says “murder” instead.  Some people use this as a Pro-Life verse, but Exodus says abortion is not murder. 

Beginning in Matthew 25:31 is a long passage called The Judgment of the Nations.  Here's part of it:

Matthew 25:34-37, 40
"Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.'  Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, [when did we do all of this?’] … And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'"

Some people use the last sentence of this passage as a Pro-Life statement: "as you did it to the least of these, you did it to me."  But I don't think it's talking about abortion.  How would you go about clothing or imprisoning a fetus?  How could you make it feel welcome?  How would you visit?  So I'm not counting it.  Feel free to count it if you disagree.   

Next passage.  I have heard the story of Onan used as a condemnation of abortion.  Onan's married older brother dies, and Onan's father gives Onan this instruction: 

Genesis 38:8-10
Then Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her; raise up offspring for your brother."  But since Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, he spilled his semen on the ground whenever he went in to his brother's wife, so that he would not give offspring to his brother.  What he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.

Onan wanted to inherit his father's estate when his father died.  If his dead brother's wife gave birth to a son, that son would have inherited everything instead of Onan.  But in those days, a child was his sister-in-law's only form of financial support in her old age.  When Onan cheats her out of it, God punishes him.  There is no comment about abortion here.  The story also doesn't condemn birth control or coitus interruptus or masturbation. 

"I formed you in the womb." 

The book of Isaiah has five passages that are more credible, but I can't count them as Pro-Life verses.  Isaiah is talking metaphorically about the nation of Israel, saying that they are God's Chosen People: 

Isaiah 44:1-4
But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen!  Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you in the womb and will help you:  Do not fear, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. 

Isaiah 44:21
Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you, you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me ... 

Isaiah 44:24-26
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:  I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by myself spread out the earth; who frustrates the omens of liars, and makes fools of diviners; who turns back the wise, and makes their knowledge foolish; who confirms the word of his servant, and fulfills the prediction of his messengers; who says of Jerusalem, "It shall be inhabited," and of the cities of Judah, "They shall be rebuilt, and I will raise up their ruins".

Isaiah 49:1-3
Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away!  The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother's womb he named me.  He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away.  And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified."

Isaiah 49:5-6
And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God has become my strength – he says, "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."

Isaiah says he's been chosen by God to bring Israel back to God.  I don't think it qualifies as a comment about abortion, so I'm not counting it.  If your interpretation is different, go ahead and count it yourself. 

"Help the Afflicted."  

There are several places in the Old Testament where the Bible calls on us to help the afflicted, oppressed, and so on.  Let's look at those verses more closely.  Job 34:28, Job 36:6, and Psalm 22:26 all call on us to help the afflicted.  But Psalm 22.26 talks about "the afflicted" this way:  "The poor shall eat and be satisfied."  Isaiah 58:10 defines the term as well:  "offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted."  So "the afflicted" is another phrase for 'the poor,' or 'the needy,' or similar. 

I found three passages that tell us to help the oppressed:  Psalm 10:12, 14, 18; Psalm 103:6; and Psalm 146:5-9.  But Ecclesiastes 4:1 refers to the "tears" of the oppressed.  Psalm 69:32 says, "Let the oppressed see it and be glad."  So "the oppressed" also refers to the poor and needy.

I found three passages that tell us to help the weak:  Psalm 35:10; Psalm 82:1-4; and Acts 20:35.  But Ezekiel 34:4 says, "You have not strengthened the weak."  Ezekiel 34:16 has God saying, "I will strengthen the weak."  So "the weak" refers to the politically disenfranchised; people with no political or economic power.   

Jeremiah 7:5-7 and 22:3 condemn the shedding of innocent blood.  During those days, neighboring religions were practicing infant sacrifice, and the Bible often condemns the rituals of competing religions. 

Proverbs 31:8-9 calls on us to "speak out for those who cannot speak," but then immediately defines the term:  "for the rights of all the destitute."  In verse 9 it reads, "defend the rights of the poor and needy."  So this is another command to help the poor. 

Scorecard 

Since abortion is an intensely religious issue in our time, it’s amazing how little the Bible says about it.  I only found five passages that address the issue -- three Pro-Choice and two Pro-Life.  If you want, count a few more from my list of uncertain verses.  Either way, that's a far cry from the 230-plus passages that demand help for the poor. 

I was also disappointed at the lack of clarity.  I expected verses that started, "Cursed be he who ..."  But I didn't find any with a strong, unambiguous statement like, “I therefore command you, open your hand to the poor and needy” that I found when I researched the Bible and the poor. 

Speaking of the poor ... some people acknowledge the Bible passages that tell us to give to the poor, but claim that the Bible doesn't say anything about government involvement in helping the poor.  (It's not true -- click on 'Government and the poor' to read 40-plus Bible passages that specify government aid to the poor.)  But when you look over the Bible passages on abortion, you'll see that they don't say anything about government getting involved in people's pregnancies.