Note: This is a guest post since presently I am teaching overseas. This is by Jesus Archuleta.
Do you often hear pro-choicers say that the Bible endorses abortion?
Are you familiar with the verses they use to support their case?
The goal I have with this blog is to go through the most common verses used by pro-choicers and see whether their claims hold up.
Objection #1 Life begins at birth with the first breath (Genesis 2:7).
Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 NASB1995
Pro-choice people like to say that the Bible teaches life begins at birth with the first breath and they use Genesis 2:7 to support their claim.
What is the problem with that logic?
Well, this is when God created the first man, Adam. This is when the first human life in history started, but this is not how the rest of human life starts.
Consider verses like Jeremiah 1:5[1] or Psalm 139:13-16 [2] which talk about God knowing that child in the womb and even before He formed them and knowing His plan for them. Also, consider Genesis 9:3-6[3] which goes on to say that life is in the blood which the rest of the Old Testament frequently affirms. We have blood long before we have breath, this is why it’s not surprising that early Jewish commentators [4] even appeal to Genesis 9 as explicitly prohibiting abortion.
Objection #2 Fetuses are not persons
(Exodus 21:22-25).
If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with a child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise
These verses are talking about how to punish a man or men who are in a fight and accidentally harm a woman who is pregnant. It says that if they hit her and cause her to give birth early and the baby and she are ok, then they pay a fine set by the husband of the woman. If they hit her and cause her to give birth early and that causes harm to the mom or baby, then they are to be put to death. This verse shows how valuable the child’s life is not that pre-born babies are not people.
Objection #3 Fetuses should be aborted as proof of adultery (Numbers 5:11-
31).
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him, and a man has intercourse with her and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she is undetected, although she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act, if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has defiled herself, or if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has not defiled herself, the man shall then bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring as an offering for her one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of memorial, a reminder of iniquity. ‘Then the priest shall bring her near and have her stand before the Lord, and the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel, and he shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. The priest shall then have the woman stand before the Lord and let the hair of the woman’s head go loose, and place the grain offering of memorial in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy, and in the hand of the priest is to be the water of bitterness that brings a curse. The priest shall have her take an oath and shall say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you and if you have not gone astray into uncleanness, being under the authority of your husband, be immune to this water of bitterness that brings a curse; if you, however, have gone astray, being under the authority of your husband, and if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has had intercourse with you” (then the priest shall have the woman swear with the oath of the curse, and the priest shall say to the woman), “the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people by the Lord’s making your thigh waste away and your abdomen swell; and this water that brings a curse shall go into your stomach, and make your abdomen swell and your thigh waste away.” And the woman shall say, “Amen. Amen.” ‘The priest shall then write these curses on a scroll, and he shall wash them off into the water of bitterness. Then he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings a curse so that the water which brings a curse will go into her and cause bitterness. The priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, and he shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar, and the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering as its memorial offering and offer it up in smoke on the altar, and afterward, he shall make the woman drink the water. When he has made her drink the water, then it shall come about, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, that the water which brings a curse will go into her and cause bitterness, and her abdomen will swell and her thigh will waste away, and the woman will become a curse among her people. But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will then be free and conceive children. ‘This is the law of jealousy: when a wife, being under the authority of her husband, goes astray and defiles herself, or when a spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife, he shall then make the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest shall apply all this law to her. Moreover, the man will be free from guilt, but that woman shall bear her guilt. Numbers 5:11-31 NASB1995
The entire purpose of this ceremony as presented in the passage is to reveal whether or not adultery has occurred. The scenario presented is not that of a man who finds his wife pregnant, but rather a man who suspects his wife of unfaithfulness and is jealous. There is nowhere in the text that suggests that we ought to murder pre-born babies.
If you would like a more detailed explanation of this passage I will leave a link in the footnotes. [5]
Objection #4 Life is not sacred (Deuteronomy 28:18-24).
Cursed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. “The Lord will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke, in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me. The Lord will make the pestilence cling to you until He has consumed you from the land where you are entering to possess it. The Lord will smite you with consumption and with fever and with inflammation and with fiery heat and with the sword and with blight and with mildew, and they will pursue you until you perish. The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze and the earth which is under you, iron. The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven, it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.”
Deuteronomy 28:18-24 NASB1995
These specific verses are about a curse that will be on Israel while they are in the Promised Land if they turn from God to false idols. This is not at all saying that life is not sacred. These curses are proceeded by verses that talked about the blessings that would be on them if they followed God while in the land. It should also be noted that Israel agreed to these conditions at the end of pronouncing them. This text stresses the reality of sin has consequences, not the fact that life isn’t sacred.
Objection #5 God will rip open pregnant
mothers-to-be (2 Kings 8:12).
Hazael said, “Why does my Lord weep?” Then he answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their little ones you will dash in pieces, and their women with the child you will rip up.”
2 Kings 8:12 NASB1995
The text doesn’t say that God will rip open pregnant women but the text says Hazael will rip open pregnant women and dash little ones to pieces. So, yes we do have abortion and infanticide mentioned here, but it also explicitly calls these actions evil.
God gave His people over to Hazael’s murderous violence for a time as a judgment on Israel, but the actions of the armies of Aram were still evil and God still justly punished them as well:
Thus says the Lord, ‘For three transgressions of Damascus and for four I will not revoke its punishment, Because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron. So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael And it will consume the citadels of Ben-hadad (Amos 1:3-4).
And as Amos pronounces God’s judgments on the nations, he condemns these same cruelties in others as well
Thus says the Lord, ‘For three transgressions of the sons of Ammon and for four I will not revoke its punishment, Because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead To enlarge their borders. So I will kindle a fire on the wall of Rabbah And it will consume her citadels Amid war cries on the day of battle, And a storm on the day of tempest. (Amos 1:13-14)
The wickedness of the abortion and infanticide carried out by these nations was a cause of their judgment.
Objection #6 Israelite King Menahem ripped open pregnant women (2 Kings
15:16).
“Then Menahem struck Tiphsah and all who were in it and its borders from Tirzah, because they did not open to him; therefore he struck it and ripped up all its women who were with child.” 2 Kings 15:16 NASB1995
It would be ludicrous for us to assume that Menahem is being held up here as a positive, moral figure. This is how the man is described in the Bible, “In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel and reigned ten years in Samaria. He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin,” (2 Kings 15:17-18).
The narrative means to show how evil Menahem was. That is the whole point! These barbarous acts of abortion and infanticide were the grim realities of ancient warfare, and the Bible accurately reports them, but it certainly does not promote them.
This is another text that has a more detailed explanation if you are interested I will also link this in the footnotes if you would like to read more. [6]
Objection #7 God will kill unborn
fetuses (Isaiah 13:18).
And their bows will mow down the young men, They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb, Nor will their eye pity children. Isaiah 13:18 NASB1995
This is a judgment passage concerning Babylon. The cruelty of the Medes will be so great, that they will not spare even infant children, on whom men do not commonly lay hands unless where there is the utmost barbarity; and, in short, that no allowance will be made for age, as we have formerly said, this doesn’t mean God is responsible for the murder of unborn children. That’s not even displayed in the text.
Objection #8 God will destroy fetuses in
utero (Hosea 9:10-16).
“I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season. But they came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves to shame, And they became as detestable as that which they loved. As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird— No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception! Though they bring up their children, I will bereave them until not a man is left. Yes, woe to them indeed when I depart from them! Ephraim, as I have seen, Is planted in a pleasant meadow like Tyre; But Ephraim will bring out his children for slaughter. Give them, O Lord—what will You give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. All their evil is at Gilgal; Indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of the wickedness of their deeds, I will drive them out of My house! I will love them no more; All their princes are rebels. Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, and They will bear no fruit. Even though they bear children, I will slay the precious ones of their womb.”
Hosea 9:10-16 NASB1995
These texts display a punishment that God has announced on Israel for their turning from Him and their worship of false gods that they sacrificed their children to. One of their punishments was that God had taken His blessing of fertility away from them. He would not allow their children to live. This is not at all an “ok” for abortion, this is a judgment from God.
Objection #9 God will dash infants in pieces and rip open pregnant women.
Samaria will be held guilty, For she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword, Their little ones will be dashed into pieces, And their pregnant women will be ripped open. Hosea 13:16 NASB1995
So, while God allowed Assyria to be His “rod of anger” to punish “the people of His fury,” God did not ever approve of their effort to “destroy and cut off many nations.” Assyria’s violence against pregnant women, unborn children, and others brought God’s wrath upon them. Their abortion and infanticide were great sins for which God punished them severely as displayed in Isaiah 10:5-7 [7].
Conclusion
After a careful analysis of these verses, we can conclude that none of these verses condones, promote, or teach that abortion is an acceptable choice. The Bible speaks very clearly that Abortion is murder and that human life even from conception is valuable. I know it seems that these objections are silly but these verses are used often by pro-choice people to try and stump Christians into thinking that the Bible supports their wicked actions. We must be able to refute their claims with the actual truth. I know there are more objections the other side will make but the goal here was to provide a defense of the most popular verses used. I hope this will be helpful to all that read.
Footnotes
[1] Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah 1:5 NASB1995
[2] For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. Psalms 139:13-16 NASB1995
[3] Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast, I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother, I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man. Genesis 9:3-6 NASB1995
Wow. This is insightful. Thank you. The LORD values the life of babies inside the mother’s womb!
Thank you! Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the good research! Notorious independent fundamental Baptist preacher, Peter Ruckman (d. 2016), who had quite a large following, used to erroneously teach that babies didn’t become human beings until they breathed on their own, based upon his faulty interpretation of Genesis 2:7.
Yeah, it’s crazy how much Christians by into this mindset!
Excellent analysis and resource. Thanks for speaking up for life!
Shalom!
Thank you for the encouragement! God bless!
Extremely informative post. Thank you .
Thank you for the encouragement. God bless!
Hey brother, good to see you on here. Good work above. Keep up the good fight.
Hey brother. Jimmy is encouraging me to write more, need to set some stuff up! Thanks for the encouragement brother. 🍻
Thanks for this defense.
Cheers! 🤙🏽
Thank you Jesus for this guest post and thank you for this thorough defense. Such an important reminder to know our Bible and study it more deeply to defend our faith and unborn babies.
Amen! God is good to give us a standard to defend from! Blessings to you! Thank you for the encouragement!
Excellent.
Thank you!
Thank you for this comprehensive post. It is very much appreciated!
Thank you for the encouragement! God bless!
You’re welcome!
A thorough rebuttal of false arguments which make a mockery of God’s Word to support evil. May they repent.
Yes! That’s the goal, to see the folly and expose it in hopes the come to the truth. Amen!
Helpful from start to finish
Means a lot! God bless!
Reblogged this on clydeherrin.
Thank you!
Hi, Jesus! This is Mandy from the Tuesday night Bible study! So glad to see a guest post from you, brother! Thank you for writing on this. I am saving this post as a reference! Hope all went well with your travels and your family!!!
Hey sister Mandy!
Thank you for the encouragement, I was happy to do it, thanks for that! It comes handy more I expect it so I am glad it can be helpful to others.
And yes everything did go well. I am recharged and refreshed, thank you for praying. I was so happy to be back in church yesterday as well it was a long three weeks and I am just glad to be back on schedule! Thank you for praying, hope all is well, God bless sister. 🙂
I am so glad it went well for you!!!! I am also glad to hear you are recharged and refreshed, praise the Lord!!!!
Good points. Thank you for presenting these.
I especially liked the first one about Genesis 2:7 where life begins at the first breath and your response: “Well, this is when God created the first man, Adam. This is when the first human life in history started, but this is not how the rest of human life starts.”
Thank you for the comment.
It’s like logic right? Unbelievers want to throw that out the window to justify their sin. At least it won’t be so easy for them if we know our Bibles. 🙂
I always am amazed at the irrationality of ideologies, they claim Christianity is fundamental extremists, yet try to use fundamental extremist text to prove their own point, I don’t know which is more laughable, the poor ability to critically assess text and its original intent, or their open hypocritical use of morality and because some other nation or allowance of death because of OUR SIN through Judgement supercedes the value a life and the unborn. Absolutely incredible.
Praise God has saved us through the fultite mind of the world.
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Thanks for the research and clarification of these passages. It never ceases to amaze me how far-fetched people can get when wanting to justify the evil they do. It reminds me of another part of Psalm 139: “They speak of you with evil intent. Your adversaries misuse your name.”
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