The Bill Of Rights, we are told by the courts, gives a woman the right of choice when it comes to whether she will give birth to the child that grows within her, or whether she may abort it. A woman thus has the legal right to decide what she will do with her own body. Is this right with God? We can get our answer from the Bible. No, it doesn’t use the word “abortion,” nevertheless, God does have a great deal to say on the subject.
We are not our own
One of the problems with the pro-choice, pro-abortion arguments, especially for a woman who calls herself a Christian, is that her body is not “her own.” It is God’s temple “and not your own” (I Cor. 6:19), and He has given directions as to what she shall do with it.
While the world argues about when life begins, God has already settled the argument. God has told us that a child does not have to be born before it comes in to “being.”
Yes, the courts may say a woman has a choice whether or not to abort, but God tells us that He reserves that choice to Himself. “Before [Rebekah’s] children were born” (i.e., in the womb or even before conception) “the choice is God’s to make” (Rom. 9:11).
One of the arguments put forth by pro-choice groups is that a fetus is not a person. Although the courts have accepted that premise (at least through the first six months of the pregnancy), God has not.
Listen to God’s word
The Bible is our “instruction book” for life. Unfortunately, most of us wait until all else fails — sometimes until it is too late — before going to the instructions. How simple our decisions would be, and how much happier our lives, if we went to the instructions first to seek guidance.
Under the Law of Moses, God set forth very specific punishment for anyone who would cause a woman to have a miscarriage. “It was death!” (Exo. 21:22-23). God wants this child to be safe in its mother’s womb.
There is no question but that a fetus is a person in God’s eyes. In Genesis 25:22 we read, “And the children struggled together within her womb…,” and continues in verse 23 by saying, “two people are in your womb.” The story of two children in their mother’s womb; two people already jealous of each other; twins, already fighting for preferred status in the family.
NOT two fetuses and NOT two not-quite-people, but two people who would represent two nations after birth. Even before birth, character is developed. We know because we are told “in the womb he struggled with God…” (Hosea 12:3).
God recognizes life beginning at conception because we are told He called His prophet from the womb (Isa. 49:1). In fact, God said, “before I formed you in the belly, I knew you…” (Jer. 1:5). If one can be known even before conception, surely man must admit that he comes into existence no later than at the time of conception. God speaks of those who are not yet in being as though they were present. He accepts, as people, those who are no more than a “twinkle in their father’s eye,” so certainly they are people during the entire time they are “borne in the belly and are still carried in the womb” (Isa. 46:3).
The ultimate penalty
In Genesis 38, in the story of Onan and Tamar, God made it clear that Onan’s spilling of his sperm on the ground to prohibit Tamar’s pregnancy was the equivalent of the destruction of life, and Onan was put to death immediately.
How can we call God a liar by insisting that these fetuses are not children – not people? When, in the opinion of men, are these fetuses viable human beings? If these “children” can be known by God even before conception, surely we must accept that they are people.
Of course a woman has the right to choose! God gave her that right long before the courts got involved – when He gave MANKIND FREE WILL. That does not mean that she does not pay the consequences of her choice if it is sinful. If a fetus is a human being (and God says that it is) and she kills that human being, she has committed murder. Apart from God’s grace, we know that no murderer will see the kingdom of God! (I John 3:15).
Women, carry your child, give birth to the life created in you by God; love it; and He will provide you with the help you need to care for it.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One