Biblical and legal perspectives on abortion in America

Bible and Law - Abortion

Bible and Law

Abortion has been defined as an act of voluntarily terminating pregnancy, which leads to the embryo's death. Abortion has become a very controversial topic in most countries because it is becoming more rampant as time goes by. Within the society, there are different opposing and proposing groups. And each of them has different views as to why they oppose or support abortion. Some see abortion as a way of practicing one's freedom in the society, while, others view abortion as an immoral act Davis ( 9)

I believe that abortion is morally wrong based on my understanding of the Bible. Abortion destroys many lives of helpless children, and it is being practiced in many countries amongst them are United States and Indonesia.

View of abortion in Indonesia

Indonesia is known to be developing Islamic nation and some of its abortion practices can be compared to the United States, which is a developed country with the majority of its citizens being Christians Indonesia ( 1)

.Unlike the U.S., Indonesian law on abortion is based on the national health bill passed in 1992 which states that, the law allows abortion to be carried out only when the woman in need of it produces the following; a confirmation from a certified doctor that she has a life-threatening complication caused by her pregnancy, a letter of consent from either the husband or any family member, a statement showing that she will adhere to and practice contraception afterwards, and a positive pregnancy test to show that she is indeed pregnant. In year 2000 alone, more than 2 million abortions were carried out in Indonesia, this is in comparison to the 42 million abortions carried out in the U.S. Indonesia ( 1)

Church Doctrine concerning abortion

Many churches in the U.S. And other parts of the world are also torn apart in this controversial debate. Though there are very many existing churches in U.S., alone, some of them include; Episcopal, Presbyterian (USA), United Methodist, United Church of Christ and this group as per their doctrine, do not approve abortion, but support the fact that a woman can seek an abortion, if it is in her best interest Presbyterian Church (USA)( 234)

. Unlike this other group of churches such as the Southern Baptist and Roman Catholic who oppose any reason for an abortion Catechism of the Catholic Church ( 2271)

Position Statements ( 452)

Abortion in the Bible

From a biblical perspective, the bible has been keen on sensitive matters like abortion. Though there is no direct indicated that abortion is a sin, the bible has used various examples and themes to show that abortion is a sinDonald P. Judges ( 4)

. And so I too conclude that abortion is a sin from the following reasons derived from a biblical perspective. These reasons are; Abortion is an act of murder, Abortion attempts to destroy a work of God, Abortion show lack of faith, abortion brings out the sin of self-righteousness and protection of the weak and helpless Rae ( 31)

To begin with, abortion is considered an act of murder: this is shown clearly by the fact that, in the entire bible, an unborn child has been referred to as a child or an infant and, therefore, according to the bible, the infant was highly valued and it is even named before birth. Babies were dedicated to the church even before they were conceived, and pregnant mothers were highly placed Com ( 4)

. In addition, Job quotes that, "Or as a hidden untimely birth, I had not been; as infants which never saw light," this implies that a unborn child is considered an infant and not a fetus King James Version ( Job 3:16)

. The fact that an unborn is not considered a fetus as the bible puts it is also supported by science. According to various researches done on human reproduction system, studies show that in a fetal cycle, the nervous system composing of the brain, the spinal cord, hair and skin starts to form at 1-4 weeks, this further implies that with this system in place, the baby has the foundation for feeling, sense, thoughts and many more. Later at 6 weeks, structures begin to form, these structures are the ones that will form the actual legs and arms, and they are called the limb buds. 10 to 12 weeks into the pregnancy, the fetus starts to make small tiny random movement that can be felt by the mother. With all these signs of a something wonderful growing inside a woman's womb in mind, why can't we categorize it as a child and prevent termination of life for social reasons Alcorn ( 43)

In Roman, (13:4) it is written "upon him that doeth evil," this is mentioned in the context that, the bible sees civil authorities as the ones supposed to uphold justice at whatever cost and those as in the current world who are and have joined the general public in the pro-life movement. Therefore, the bible expects and commands the civil authorities to administer justice. Christians should act as ambassadors of Christ and say clearly what the bible term as a sin and what is not, through this general public can repent and stop some of the sins being encouraged because, "For by the law is the knowledge of sin" King James Version ( Rom.3:20)

The bible also emphasizes that abortion is a form of killing, killing a child in the womb is also murder and is a crime punishable by the death penalty. This is supported by the commandment that says; "Thou shalt not kill" King James Version ( Exodus 21:20-13)

and if one sacrifices a child, "he shall surely be put to death" King James Version ( Leviticus 20:1-5)

. The bible continues to oppose killing as shown in Exodus 21:22-23, which says, "If men strive, and hurt a women with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life" King James Version ( Exodus 21:22-23)

This is an example of an abortion case which is minimal yet needs justice to be served by the civil authorities. In this example, there are four sensitive phrases which needs to be emphasized and interpreted in order to bring out the intensity of this abortion issues, the phrases/sentences are; "If men strive...." has been used to imply, injury caused by men in indefinite numbers, they can be one or many. The other phrase is, "So that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow....," this shows that in case of a premature birth, caused or not caused by an injury, the man responsible for the "premature birth" should be punished by the civil authorities, and so he will be liable for a fine. Therefore, if these current laws are to borrow some governance from the bible then, this example gives a clear picture how a pregnant mother and a child should be protected against harm by the law Beckwith and Francis ()

The third phrase is, "And if mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life....." In this incidence, the bible recommends that one should die for a life taken, so if the bible is so strict pertaining to an accident which mistakenly led to premature termination of a pregnancy, then it is obvious that a case of induced termination of pregnancy will be treated more harshly. There should, therefore, be no upper limit to the sentence or penalty served to a person(s) who has committed such an act. It is clearly said in the bible and should be captured in the law, that if a person through his/her careless actions, unintentionally takes away the life of a child or hurts the pregnant mother bearing the child, he/she is supposed to suffer the death penalty Tricia Andryszewski ( 65)

The forth phrase is, "if any mischief follow... give life for life." This implies that the bible is against termination of life and it protects human life from the time of conception. "if any mischief follow.." this also shows that the child too has equal protection rights under the law from the time it was formed or given life, as quoted, "life for life." In the bible, it is shown in Deuteronomy, (28:15) that God does not tolerate those who causes harm to a pregnant mother or a child in the womb, but He curses nations that do not administer such a justice, He quotes, "come upon" and "overtake" to imply the nations that do not give justice to pregnant women injured King James Version ( Deuteronomy 28:15)

. This quote generally show that if God does not tolerate nations that do not administer justice to injured pregnant women or child murder, then neither should His people Baird and Rosenbaum ( 189)

The second biblical argument is that, conducting abortion, it attempts to destroy the work of God which is the creation of human beings. In Isaiah (44:2a), God says, "I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you are born." This quote gives us an insight of care and the love God has for His creation. Albert Einstein the great mathematician once said, "God doesn't play dice." Neither is He wrong when He says He is the creator of all mankind. God already knew a person even before his/her conception took place, to Him a child is not a miss-plan, neither is it a mistake; therefore it is wrong for somebody to take away the life of a child who was already planned by God King James Version ( Isaiah 44:2a)

The bible continues, "You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; you know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something." (Psalm 139:15). This quote strengthen the fact that God already knew each and every person even before they were born and that He created them in the most perfect way with each baby having a unique personality and natural talent. It is shown further that God makes a baby for a reason and so, pregnancy or the birth of a child, is usually not an accident, as some women would terminate a pregnancy on the ground that it was unplanned for. "You saw me before I was born and schedule each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book." King James Version ( Psalm 139:16)

More emphasis is laid down on the fact that God does not do things accidentally, nor does He makes mistakes, especially in relation to the creation of a child, He does so with it in mind and with love Beckwith and Francis ( 53)

. This is shown by Ephesians (1:49) which says, "Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind had settled on s as the focus of his love" King James Version ( Ephesians 1:49)

. Isaiah (46:3-4) also says, "I have carried you since you were born; I have taken care of you from your birth. Even when you are old, I will be the same. Even when your hair has turned gray, I will take care of you. I made you and will take care of you" King James Version ( Isaiah 46:3-4)

The third argument that shows that the bible is strongly against abortion is that, carrying of abortion shows how much human beings (Christians) have a lack of faith in God. "But he that doubteth is condemned if he eat, because he eateth, not of faith; and whatsoever is not of faith is sin," King James Version Roman 14:23 .

This quote portrays how Christians lack faith in all the teaching and commandment given to them especially those concerning abortion or termination of life. They still continue to carry out abortion practices even with the warning that it is sin. Countries are even governed by constitutions which are also written in consultation with religious leaders and even, so it still permits abortion. All this lack of faith is considered a sin before God and, therefore, Christians should lead by example and stop abortion practices since it is a sin Harris ( 154)

Women need to have more faith in God; they should know that He is the creator, the giver of life and the provider. A woman should not lose her child or terminate it for reasons such as; she cannot afford taking care of the child when it is born, she is not lady for it. With faith, everything will work out, women should always trust in God, they should stop running their own life and give God the chance to guide them. With God in them, thought of heinous acts such as abortion should be unheard of Davis ( 77)

The forth biblical argument is, the unborn babies are also humans. The bible clearly recognizes an unborn baby as a human being, this is evident when the Virgin Mary was carrying baby Jesus and she had visited her cousin Elizabeth, whom at that time was three months due. The bible says in Luke (1:41, 44), that when Mary the mother of Jesus met with Elizabeth, John (the unborn child) "leaped in her womb for joy" King James Version ( Luke 1:41, 44)

. So this shows that John the Baptist was then a human and understood the presence of Jesus even before his birth. In addition, God spoke to prophet Jeremiah, "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" King James Version Jeremiah 1:5.

This shows that God had plans for everyone including Jeremiah who was still in his mother's womb.

In support of the unborn being humans, the bible often used the word brephos to signify a newly born infant, for instance, children killed on Pharaoh's command were referred to as brephos King James Version ( Acts 7:19)

. Whereas, the word is used to refer to a pre-born infant in the story of John the Baptist Gleason L. Archer ( 274)

. To further support this, the bible tells of how John the Baptist was filled with the Holly spirit while still in the mother's womb as a sign of personhood (King James Version (

Luke 1:15). Further into the apostles, Huios in Greek term meant son, but it was being used in John the Baptist's experience in the womb at six months Gleason L. Archer ( 266)

The fifth reason why the bible is against abortion is that, it teaches people to protect and defend the weak, the innocent, the defenseless, the unwanted and the needy. The bible encourages Christian and the entire populations to help those who are not strong enough, to give them hope to fight on and overcome their fears. Those who women who might be contemplating of having an abortion should be assisted in any way possible so as to remove their fears and any reasons they might be having for seeking abortion. The bible talks about, "speaking up for those who can't speak for themselves" King James Version the Holy Bible ()

. Those who might be oppressed to the extent that the only available choice is to seek for an abortion should be assisted, not to through advocacy.

In addition, there are several book chapters in the bible that reinforces the argument that it is wrong to harm the innocent and the defenseless. This is shown by the fact that, after the speculation to the king that the messiah was to be born. The king ordered that He be looked for and killed and so Joseph and Mary the mother of Jesus had to flee to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. This shows how much the king wanted to harm the unborn, and from Isaiah, (1:15) "When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you, even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood" King James Version the Holy Bible ()

. This portrays how much god is against murder of any kind and those who commit such crimes will cease to be in a relationship with God and that punishment awaits them.

In Hebrews (4:13), it is shown that God recognizes all His creations on earth even those hidden from the man, He says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's eyes. Everything is uncovered and lay bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" King James Version the Holy Bible ()

. This explains why human beings are given the duty to protect Gods creation in totality without discrimination.

The sixth reason as to why the bible is discouraging abortion concerns stopping people from being self-righteous. Self-righteous is a situation where a person(s) thinks he/she is better than others, and this according to the bible was considered a sin. In the bible, there are two groups of people who considered themselves self-righteous, they are; the Pharisees and the tax collectors Meilaender ()

. The Pharisees were viewed to be so strict in keeping the laws of God while, the tax collectors were among those considered low in the society since they served the Roman ruler by extorting for excess tax and they were also traitors. The bible talks of Jesus' story concerning them which said, "Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a proud, self-righteous Pharisee, and the other a cheating tax collector. The proud Pharisee prayed' this prayer: 'Thank God, I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that the tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don't commit adultery, I go without food twice a week, and I give to God a tenth of everything I earn.' "But the corrupt tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed, but beat upon his chest in sorrow, exclaiming, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner.' I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home forgiven! For the proud shall be humbled, but the humble shall be honored." King James Version the Holy Bible ()

. This teaching shows that people should not abort other human beings since they are not better than the infants in the eyes of the lord.

Christians are encouraged by the bible to avoid judging other for their wrong doing. The bible quotes that, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." King James Version the Holy Bible ()

. Therefore, Christians should accept those who have once committed abortion and those who are involved in the abortion processes, so that they would stop this practice and live in the manner Christ wants us to live. The Christian are encouraged not to judge others for the sins they have committed but to correct them from doing more of the evil deeds in a compassionate and fair way King James Version the Holy Bible ()

Conclusion

Abortion as a practice has existed since ancient times but over the years, reasons to have it has changed. Initially, abortion or premature termination of pregnancy took place only as an accident but nowadays abortion is being sort after as a birth control method. Christianity is slowly fading when such practices are being encouraged by the Christians themselves. In Genesis, the bible shows how God gave Adam and Eve the opportunity of deciding between the right and the wrong. Therefore, it is our God given right to deny such practices which as against the guidance given by the bible Cochrane ()

. Christians are charged with the task of help those who have fallen and assist them with the strength to make wiser decisions without judging them and by removing of all these social reasons women give to seek abortion, them as a Christian, this move will assist to lower the number of women seeking abortion. Even though there is a vast difference in the general nature of people, moral authorities, social and religious backgrounds, economic situations, views of humanity, and biological interpretations, the constant conflict on abortion issues should be resolved and that people should use the bible as a guide for making the right decision.