In the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17), it clearly states that “Thou shall not murder.” This is what everything leads back to and what every Christian needs to remember. Murder is the unlawful, deliberate killing of one human being by another. The aforementioned bore in mind, a foetus’s heart starts beating and its nervous system is being laid down at three weeks – it is already alive. Many Christians (and non-Christians) believe that life starts even earlier – at the moment of conception. By terminating the prospect to a human being’s life, for a Christian, surely that would be ruining God’s plan, work and creation. With these beliefs, an abortion would be the murder of an innocent human life – something that should always be condemned.
Moving away from the topic of the foetus itself, we now bring in the parent(s) of the foetus. It may not have been the deliberate intention of the parent(s) to conceive a child or indeed let the “moment of conception” happen as it were; however, no child is an accident, no matter what is said. The possibility of creating a child is always there when one chooses to engage in sexual intercourse – it never isn’t, as the whole process is intended for procreation/reproduction. It is up to the person(s) to make that choice and thus enable the possibility of creating a child. The consequences cannot be blamed on this or that, as at the end of the day the person(s) made the choice to have sex.
Nevertheless, it can be argued that there are many instances wherein a Christian could agree to abortion – that it depends on the situation. There are cases such as rape, for example, which can lead to unwanted pregnancies. These pregnancies would not be the fault of the victims as they had no choice in the matter. The victims give no consent. So, can a Christian agree to having an abortion is this case? Well, justified killing is permitted in the Bible are clearly stated, as follows: consequences for crime (1 Kings 2:13-46), in warfare (Deuteronomy 20:10-18) and self defence (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Exodus 22, described in the Torah). In cases of rape, the foetus/unborn baby would be the consequence of a crime and an abortion could be seen as an act of self-defence towards the victim. Having/raising the unborn baby could lead to mental/physical health problems, as not only would the victim would be deeply affected by her sexual violation but her child (it would be a constant reminder of what happened). A Christian would have to put their self into the victim’s shoes and think about what they would do.
Abortion may be the most loving and caring thing to, depending on the situation, so a Christian would have to take this into account too. For instance, the foetus could have severe disabilities that would affect and perhaps even ruin its entire life when born. Not to mention, what if the unborn baby is a large factor in its mother’s physical/mental health? It would not be right or very loving to force the mother to carry on with the pregnancy in such a state. Following this, a parent’s physical/mental health could affect the child too. The foetus could solely be unwanted, so what’s to say that it would be cared for once born? What’s to say that it would be born into a happy, functional, loving family? If unwanted, the child could be the subject of abuse/neglect when growing up. What Christian – what moral human being – would want that sort of life for somebody?
Continuing, every woman is in total control of her own body anyway, as every man is in control of his. Until the day comes when a man is able to carry an unborn baby around in their womb for 9 months, then he holds no right to judge or say anything. Women are not human incubators, so it is not their job to carry a baby around in their womb for nine months. A foetus is wholly dependent on the woman’s body it’s occupying, so the woman has to feed it, look after it, bear it, support it and give birth to it – there are no shortcuts. It is a lot for a woman to handle. It can be argued that a foetus is only deemed alive and human if its mother wants it to be. People who support the right for woman to have this choice are considered “pro-choice”, not “pro-abortion”, for a reason. A Christian should respect a woman’s decision to abort or not. As the Bible states in Luke 6: 37 (new living translation 2007): “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.”
So, what would a Christian say and why?
In Christianity, particularly, there are many denominations (sub-groups, one could say) splitting it. Each denomination as a whole will have their own views, opinions and interpretations of ethics; some may be large differences, others may be smaller, but at the end of the day it is these differences that make ethics very challenging to process... especially when it comes to things like abortion. The Bible does not state in particular whether or not abortion is a sin; however, it makes plenty of allusions to it that are open to interpretation. Unless you generalise, there is no one motion all Christians will say. Not all Christians will believe the same thing. Thus, it all depends on the Christian their self and what they believe, what they’ve been taught to believe, what they feel they should believe. It’s all down to the conscience and free will given by God to think, choose and make decisions.