Few issues of our day are more polarizing than the scourge of abortion. Since the infamous Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in 1973, a war for the future of mankind continues to rage in the United States of America. Thankfully, the Supreme Court struck down the so-called right to abortion in the recent Dobbs v. Jackson case. However, abortion is still legal in many places in the United States, and this issue is still far from complete resolution nationally. While there is no shortage of opinions on this issue, for those who claim to know Christ the most urgent concern is understanding and applying Biblical truth. Perhaps the most foundational truth at stake is the sanctity of human life. The Bible teaches that humanity holds a unique place over the rest of the created order. Throughout the creation account, God repeatedly announces the virtue of His handiwork by daily proclaiming the results to be “good.” Yet at the grand finale of creation as recorded in Genesis 1:26-31, God testifies that humanity is made in His image after His likeness. He gives mankind a special place of authority within the cosmos; he announces their preeminence among his earthly creatures by declaring their establishment to be “very good.” Later in Scripture, we see that God places utmost significance on the preservation of His image. Under the covenant with Noah, God explains in Genesis 9:6 that He will require the life of man or beast if they spill the blood of a person. Human life is sacred because the image of God is sacred.
Proponents of abortion will sometimes attempt to circumvent the idea that life is sacred by arguing that a baby is not a person. Such a position claims that humans achieve personhood once they attain certain traits and capacities. Such capacities include, but are not limited to, reasoning, consciousness, the ability to communicate and other self-motivated behaviors. From a philosophical position, some problems with this idea come to mind. First there exists no objective way to determine desirable traits from undesirable traits. Any list of traits and their definitions are completely subjective and would naturally change over time. Furthermore, such subjectivity opens the cognitive door to labeling people as “undesirables” and marking them for elimination; Nazi Germany embraced this line of reasoning to justify mass executions. From a theological perspective, the Bible rejects this line of thought by describing the inherent value of life from conception. The Bible declares in Psalm 139:13-16 that God knows the content and details of each life prior to conception. In Isaiah 49:1 and Jeremiah 1:5, the Lord calls men to be prophets before He forms them. Additionally in Luke 1:41, John the Baptist demonstrates the capacity to respond to news that he is in God’s presence even in utero. Clearly, personhood begins at conception and a strong argument can be made for personhood even before conception.
God also demonstrates his care and concern for the unborn and for the mother in Exodus 21:22-25 by imposing penalties on anyone harming a child in utero or the pregnant mother. The Biblical text places equal value on the life of the mother and the life of the unborn child. Based on the equal penalty applied to the injury of either person, there is no distinction in worth. Proponents of abortion will attempt to argue that opposition to abortion is rooted in a latent desire to suppress the rights of women. However, the Bible is witness to God’s desire to protect not only the lives of the unborn child, but also the life of the mother. Many women who experience abortion are left alone after the procedure to suffer the consequences in isolation. Abortion providers are not there to help the mother pick up the pieces of her life after terminating her child. Women are simply left to suppress their feelings and sadness. This is one of the great ironies of the pro-abortion position. Furthermore, the Bible not only holds that the mother and baby are equal in terms of personhood, but also equal in terms of consequence for killing or harming them. Therefore, homicidal statutes should be further updated to reflect society’s commitment to protecting all life. In cases where her life is not in danger, a mother who obtains an abortion may be morally complicit in the murder of her baby.
What should be done about the hard cases such as rape or incest? Certainly the perpetrators of criminal acts should be punished to the maximum extent of the law. But does that mean that the child who results from the crime should also be treated as a criminal and face execution? If one is to accept the view of Scripture that human life is inherently sacred, then the child has rights and deserves protection. While there is no easy answer to dealing with the pain of rape or incest, taking innocent life will never serve as justice for the crime. In Psalm 82:3-4, God declares that He is the defender of the poor and helpless. Many Christian communities set a bold example by helping women in just such a perilous predicament by providing support in prayer, counseling, and options for adoption or foster care.
How should a Christian conduct himself regarding this issue? Reflecting God’s image back to Him as an act of worship must be paramount for Christians. Jesus declares in Luke 6:36 that our compassion for others flows from God’s compassion for us. Such compassion must mark our behavior toward those in the pro-abortion camp as well as the mothers and children caught in this societal deception. Since the Bible establishes inherent personhood from conception, it is clear that from a Biblical perspective humans inside the womb deserve protection. No unborn child can speak for herself or defend herself. As ambassadors for Christ, we must be faithful to the counsel of Scripture and stand firm for the lives that God has made. We must pray for the end of abortion and seek to elect governmental leaders who will undo the damage of previous governments. The Bible plainly demonstrates the inherent value in every human life from conception. The future of human flourishing depends on whether we will be faithful to God’s Word and what it says about this foundational issue, the sanctity of human life.