"What Does the Bible Actually Say about Abortion?"
Many conservative Christians use scripture to justify their positions but ignore Jesus’s teachings on humanity and equality
BY MICHAEL COREN
IN 2020, A UNITED METHODIST pastor in Birmingham, Alabama, named Dave Barnhart wrote something on social media, about critics of abortion, that provoked quite a reaction from all sides of the debate.
He said that the “unborn” are a very convenient group to organize around because they don’t make any demands of you and they’re not morally complicated—unlike those in prison, those with addictions, or those trapped in poverty. “You can love the unborn and advocate for them without substantially challenging your own wealth, power, or privilege, without re-imagining social structures, apologizing, or making reparations to anyone. They are, in short, the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus but actually dislike people who breathe.”
It’s a strong and determined statement. It does seem that those who describe themselves as pro-life are extremely selective in their areas of compassion. That, at least, is true of a great many within the movement. Indeed, by their increasing support for extreme conservative politicians and policies, they’re not merely indifferent to Christian causes but actively hostile toward them. But, first, let’s look at what Jesus and the scriptures actually say about the subject of abortion. You may be surprised.
AS WITH HOMOSEXUALITY and a number of other topics that seem to so energize and enrage conservative Christians, abortion is hardly mentioned in the Bible.
There is ample evidence to show that abortion was practised in the ancient world—in Egypt, for example, as far back as sixteen centuries before the birth of Christ. What we don’t find are many prohibitions against it. Pro-lifers will point to the command of God in Genesis, “Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person’s blood be shed; for in his own image God made humankind.” So, murder is punished by murder. Which is a strict legal code for an ancient people living without police, a sophisticated justice system, or any of the social or prohibitive structures taken for granted in modern times. But this passage is about one adult killing another, and it has nothing at all to do with abortion.
Another oft-used quote, and another that mentions the womb, is in 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.”
Lyrical and beautiful stuff. But, again, what is being said? This passage is surely about God’s power, but it doesn’t say anything that is at all specific or exclusive to the fetus. The Christian belief is that God knows all, knows us, knows who and what we are. Knows, remember, the woman who is desperate, poor, young, and alone—who can’t afford to have a child, who was raped or abused, who is terrified, who has no health care, who is crying out, after much thought and consideration, to terminate her pregnancy. Knows the goodness and purity in her heart and the harshness of those who condemn. Put simply, the ancient, biblical statement that God is all-powerful has no relevance to the rights of women over their own bodies.
Exodus 21:22 is, however, a part of the Bible that actually does mention the fetus. “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. If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”
This is fascinating because it outlines specific punishments for specific crimes. If a woman is hurt in a struggle and then has a miscarriage, the penalty is a fine, a mere financial payment. But, if there is further harm, likely meaning the woman has long-term and serious injuries or even dies, then the culprit could be killed. In other words, the life and well-being of the woman, the mother, is of much greater significance than those of her unborn child.
Reluctant as I am to say it, experience leads me to conclude that the anti-abortion movement certainly doesn’t always indicate a Christ-based love for others. The humiliation and degradation inflicted on women outside of clinics is genuinely shocking. I’ve watched protesters howling at vulnerable women walking into clinics, calling them “murderers” and predicting that “God will not forgive” them. Then there are the people who insist on distributing millions of leaflets showing graphic, bloody pictures of abortions, even putting them through the front doors of private homes where it’s likely that children will see them.
While they claim to be nonviolent, it’s difficult to be convinced. Violence has certainly taken place, and it’s included kidnapping, assault, attempted murder, murder, arson, bombings, and stalking. Anti-abortion extremists are considered a domestic terrorist threat by the United States, where most of these incidents occur. There have also been attacks in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and elsewhere...........
Quotes source:In all of the Christian opposition to abortion, there is a strong element of control, a notion that women don’t merit autonomy and are instead vessels and vehicles for children. They have a duty to be mothers, not the right to be free, independent beings. Apart from the obvious offensiveness of it all, it’s just not biblical. Women are the first to see the resurrected Christ and are not believed by the frightened men who cower in upper rooms and in hiding...........
https://thewalrus.ca/what-does-the-bibl ... -abortion/
Adapted from The Rebel Christ by Michael Coren, 2021
So is the real religious/political/moral issue about abortion - Or rather is it mainly White 'Christian Identity' politics trying to steal
women's, and by extension, all of our rights Are they using a supposed right to life agenda
but really subverting American Democracy and the Constitution of the United States