The Bible is clearly against abortion. Through scripture, we can see how God views life and that He acknowledges life from within the womb. With this understanding, we can conclude that taking the life of an unborn child is just as murderous as ending the life of a born person.
Exodus 21:22-25 – If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. 23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
This scripture is stating that if the baby is born prematurely due to the hit, and there is injury to the baby, or even if the baby dies, the offender must receive the same injury or death. This scripture is referring only to the child’s injury, as with adults, there are different scriptures about this, such as:
Leviticus 24:17-20 – ‘Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death. 18 Anyone who takes the life of someone’s animal must make restitution—life for life. 19 Anyone who injures their neighbor is to be injured in the same manner: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury.
This scripture refers to ‘neighbors’ meaning male and female adults.
God considers the life of a child in the womb with the same significance as a grown man. He does not see any difference in the two lives. If this is the case, then we know that God is against abortion and considers it murder. There are even cases in the Bible where God gave the Holy Spirit to a child in the womb.
John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb.
Luke 1:15 – For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
Luke 1:41-44 – And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
It was also the same for Samson, who was a Nazarite, dedicated to God from his mother’s womb.
Judges 13:5 – You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
God refers to knowing us before we were even formed in the womb. God knew Isaac before he was even conceived.
Genesis 17:19 – Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
Genesis 18:10 – Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.
Genesis 17:15-16 – God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
Genesis 18:14 – Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
Genesis 21:1-3 – Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.
Same thing with Samuel.
1 Samuel 1:1-6, 10-11 & 19 – There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 2He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the LORD. 4On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the LORD had closed her womb.a 6And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb…10She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. 11And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”..19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.
1 Samuel 1:20 – And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the LORD.”
There are many instances of scripture that relate to God knowing us before the womb. Let’s take a further look.
God speaks of this to Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
As does the Apostle Paul:
Galatians 1:15 – But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased
King David speaks of this:
Psalm 139:13-16 – For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Psalm 71:6 – From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.
Job speaks of this:
Job 31:15 – Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?
We see the same thing with Jesus:
Luke 1:35 – The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.
Matthew 1:18 – This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 22:9-10 – 9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. 10 From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
The nation of Israel is also spoken of this way.
Isaiah 46:3 – “Listen to me, descendants of Jacob, all you who remain in Israel. I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born.
English Standard Version – “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb;
Isaiah 49:1&5 – Listen to me, all you in distant lands! Pay attention, you who are far away! The LORD called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name…5And now the LORD speaks—the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him. The LORD has honored me, and my God has given me strength.
Isaiah 44:2 – This is what the Lord says—he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
The life of an unborn child is recognized by God. He has plans for the unborn child just as he does for living adults. So according to the Bible, it is wrong for an unborn child’s life to be ended through abortion. It is considered murder in the eyes of God.
Psalm 127:3 – Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.
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