The term “abortion” refers to the removal or discharge of an embryo or foetus in order to end a pregnancy. Miscarriages, also known as “spontaneous abortions”, are abortions that take place naturally and affect 30 to 40 % of pregnancies. Abortions have been tried historically bu using herbal remedies, pointed objects, vigorous messages or other conventional techniques. Distinct countries have different abortion cultural, and religious perspectives. In certain places, abortion is only permitted under particular circumstances such as rape, foetal abnormalities, health risk to the mother, poverty or incest. When a pregnancy is intentionally ended is known as an induced miscarriage or abortion. The legal, moral and ethical implications of abortion are up for a debate. People who refrain the procedure of abortion frequently claim that foetus or embryo has a right to life and therefore, abortion is compared with murder. Abortion advocates frequently make the case that woman has the right to take decisions regarding her own body. Similarly, Abortion and Christianity have a complicated history together and the earliest Christian denominations hold a range of opinions on the subject. A number of biblical verses have been construed as suggesting either moral favour or condemnation of abortion, despite the fact that Bible does not specifically condemn it. Over time, Christian had varying views on abortion over time. Some claim that Christians viewed abortion as a heinous act of sin at any stage of pregnancy, while others claimed that early Christians never considered the killing of a foetus that had not yet developed and transferred into a human soul to be a murder.
In Bible, the word “abortion” is not stated; however, the topic is extensively covered in the text. The text from Exodus 21:22-25 is the accurate passage “And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth…”. The part mentioned an incident of a pregnant lady who gets into a fight between two men and experiences a miscarriage due to which a section of the Covenant code is regulated. The punishment for the injuries of a woman is separated from the punishment of the loss of a foetus. However, “lex talions”- eye for an eye, life for life is enforced if a woman is either hurt or killed.
Since the story centres on unintentional, not intentional, termination of pregnancy, its relevance to the present issue of abortion is rather restricted. However, its crucial to make a differentiation between the pregnant mother and the foetus. According to the covenant, the foetus is treated as property, whereas the woman is recognized as a human. Its position is unquestionably lower than the status of a woman. The parity argument, which holds that a mother and a foetus have an equal moral and religious value, is not supported by the passage.
The narrative of the mother of John, Elizabeth, found mainly in the new Testament is another biblical passage occasionally used in opposition to abortion. The Gospel of Luke describes what happens when Elizaeth sees mother of Jesus, Mary: “When Mary greeted Elizabeth, the child in the womb jumped and Elizabeth felt fulfilling of Holy Spirit. It is a powerful verse for Christians because it connects Jesus, the Messiah along with the Baptist, John, who would announce the arrival of the God of the world. However, even the second passage does not address the issue of abortion in the Bible. Firstly, It can be used as a reference for people who are atypical, usual and like the rest of others. Secondly, because it hardly represents the activity that occurred inside the womb. The beautiful depiction of the relationship between John and Jesus is biblical song that describes what is forever and makes redemption more relatable. It is not a manual on how to get pregnant as woman.
As pe the bible, the first breath of the baby marks the beginning of life. In a number of major passages, notably the count of the creation of Adam in Genesis 2:7, which depicts that when God “breathe through the nostrils which helped in taking the breath for living that is when man become a living being”, the bible describes life as “breath”. According to Jewish belief, a person’s existence begins at birth. In order to find a scriptural justification for their convictions, used obscure passages that are typically poetic or metaphoric expressions, such as “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Palm 51:5. The line is sexist and serves only to remind the original sin and nothing about abortion is addressed.
Many who oppose abortion use Exodus 20:13, the sixth commandment, “Thou Shalt not kill”, as proof that bible opposes abortion. The silence of bible on the concept of abortion or the concept of life is not looked into. The Mosaic rule, which comes right after the Ten Commandments in Exodus 21:22-5, makes it simple that an embryo or foetus is not a human. Bible is incoherent. Many living humans, comprising children were killed brutally in the bible hence the commandment “ Thou Shalt not kill” does not apply. Foe “crimes” such as a stubborn son (Deut 21:18-21), curing one’s parents (Ex. 21:17), being gay (Lev 20: 13) or even during Sabbath, the picking up of sticks (Numbers 15:32-35), the Mosaic law commands “Thou shall kill” people. The bible advocates the death penalty for actions that no one in a civilised society would consider to be crimes, so it is away from upholding the sanctity of a human life.
The Bible has both the perspectives, one which supports the abortion and the other which opposes the process of abortion. In Genesis 2:7, it is cited by Christians who support the right of abortion as evidence that human begins the moment of livelihood with the moment “the breath of life” which entered the body; Lungs of the foetus are not regarded to be fully functional until about the 37 weeks of the gestation period and they are unable to breathe until the time of birth. In Number 5:11-31, the passage mentions that a woman who has been accused of adultery was given orders to drink if she was found guilty, it caused her thigh to fade away and her tummy to bulge out. According to Christians, who favour legalised abortion, if a woman commits with another man other than husband, her foetus will be destroyed. However, those who oppose the abortion procedure, Christians counter the scriptures in which it does not specifically mention about abortion or the consequences on the body of a woman relating to something else. In Bible, the God frequently commanded, carried out or sanctioned mass murder. The Lord casually instructed Moses to kill 24,000 Israelites in Numbers 25:4-9. It is obvious that the bible is anti-life. The majority of academics and interpreters concur that the prohibition against killing only prohibited the murder of Hebrews who had already been born. In Jermiah 1:5, Christains who favour the abortion have asserted that the text specifically referred to Jeremiah and explains the reason of specialness by stating that God had plans even before his birth. It has been claimed that rather than referring to a broad theory of reproduction and biology, the verse, “refers to a unique plan for an individual”. The lord frequently spoke to Isaiah and Jeremiah, who both served as his representative to his people. Both continue to believe that they were called to finish the work of the kingdom while still being in the womb, and the belief is rooted on their deep relationships shared with the God. Both the prophets wrote down that there is no distinction between the postnatal and prenatal life from the perspective of God. During the time of conception, God has perceived life. Preborn Children have full humanity which is further supported by the biblical premise. The Bible does not tend to support children. The bible far from being a “pro life”, slaughters unborn children and expectant mothers in passage after passage, beginning with the flood and heinous destruction of Gomorrah and Sodom, moving on to the killing of each first born child in Egypt (Ex 12:29) and concluding with a number of threats of annihilation in the New Testament.
It can be concluded that Abortion is an act that is performed to get rid of pregnancy voluntarily or involuntarily. Abortion can occur through induced miscarriage or an accident which cause to the loss of life in the womb. Every culture has their own set of believes and faith regarding the concept of abortion. Few people oppose abortion and few accept it. It should be the choice of the woman who is carrying the womb, if she wants to keep it or not. However, the religious sentiments are also associated with pregnancy or abortion. In Bible, there is no clear explicit mention about abortion. Although, few stories have been depicted which helps to understand the value of livelihood. The passages are comprehended in both manners, positively and negatively.
Work Cited
Romanis, E.C., 2020. Artificial womb technology and the choice to gestate ex utero: is partial ectogenesis the business of the criminal law?. Medical Law Review, 28(2), pp.342-374.
Sazhenova, E.A., Nikitina, T.V., Vasilyev, S.A., Tolmacheva, E.N., Vasilyeva, O.Y., Markov, A.V., Yuryev, S.Y., Skryabin, N.A., Zarubin, A.A., Kolesnikov, N.A. and Stepanov, V.A., 2021. NLRP7 variants in spontaneous abortions with multilocus imprinting disturbances from women with recurrent pregnancy loss. Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, 38(11), pp.2893-2908..
Huss, B., 2021. Well-being before and after pregnancy termination: the consequences of abortion and miscarriage on satisfaction with various domains of life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 22(6), pp.2803-2828.
Collins, J., 2019. What are Biblical Values?: What the Bible Says on Key Ethical Issues. Yale University Press.
Díaz, J.A.Á., 2019. Health and religion: a bioethics approach. Revista Bioética, 27, pp.53-61.
Takahashi, Y. and James, C., 2018. Victimology and victim assistance: Advocacy, intervention, and restoration. SAGE Publications.
Wicaksono, A., Kurniawan, A.A.W. and Iswahyudi, I., 2021. The Role of Women in the Work of Salvation Through the Figures of Mary and Elisabeth According to Luke Chapters 1–2. RERUM: Journal of Biblical Practice, 1(1), pp.77-100.
SHINTIA, G., 2020. A Speech Act Analysis on Direct Speech In The Book Of Luke (Niv) (Doctoral dissertation, Doctoral dissertation, UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA
YOGYAKARTA). Retrieved from https://repository. usd. ac. id/37546/2/164214045_full. pdf).
Midson, S., 2019. Humus and Sky Gods: Partnership and Post/Humans in Genesis 2 and the Chthulucene. Sophia, 58(4), pp.689-698.
Ngo, H.T., 2022. Perspective on abortion in Vietnamese Christian context. International Journal of Research, 11(1), pp.45-55.
Schultz, J.E., 2021. The Real Royal Family: The Image of God in Scripture and Ethics. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Jeremiah, D., 2021. God Has Not Forgotten You: He Is with You, Even in Uncertain Times. Thomas Nelson.
