Abortion has been one of the most commonly debated issues in American politics since the original Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. Legal battles have ensued for over half a century, with conservatives and liberals unable to agree. But what does the Bible have to say about the issue?
In 1973, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of abortion being considered a "constitutional right." Since then, the hotly contested issue has been the center of many political and legal debates. The ruling was overturned in 2022 and gave states more power to legislate how they would handle abortion. But that hasn't stopped the conversations.
For the most part, conservative politicians and mostly right-leaning states favor the elimination of abortion or, at least, the limiting of it. Contrastingly, democrats and blue states fight for unrestricted or mostly unrestricted access to abortion.
At the time of this writing, 24 states have in place full or near-full abortion bans or full or near-full bans on "telemedical care" for abortions. However, according to a recent study from the Journal of the American Medical Association, over 100,000 abortion pill packs were sent to individuals in these states.
22 states and Washington DC have implemented "shield laws" for abortion that grant legal protection for residents of other states to access what they call "reproductive care." One example of such a law in New York allows for non-residents to receive any and all abortions or abortion-related "care" within the state without interference or consequence; the law extends to include virtual appointments and shipping medicines across state lines, making the findings from the JAMA legal in many instances.
In this article, we won't debate the merit of that legality. However, we will look at some facts and observations about abortion, what the political Right and political Left support, and, most importantly, what the Bible teaches.
Some facts about abortion in America
All statistics below are from recent studies conducted by Guttmacher Institute, unless otherwise indicated.
- Abortions have increased in recent years in the United States. With over 1 million abortions in 2024 (just documented procedures in states without abortion bans), the national count has increased every year since 2017. However, the per-woman abortion rate dropped a bit from 2023 to 2024, and coupled with no major change in the overall population, that indicates that a number of women had more than one, but that number appears to be fewer than it was in 2023.
- "Online-only abortions" constituted about 15% of the total abortions in the United States in 2024. This means that about 15% of the abortions in this country last year came without an in-person appointment. This does not even include cross-state online-only abortions made possible by shield laws. That means the number is actually higher.
- Also coming in at about 15% of the total abortion number, more people than ever are crossing state lines to have abortions.
- 14 states have complete bans against abortions other than in life-saving situations. There are now zero abortion clinics in these states.
- More than two-thirds of individuals receiving abortions in the US are in their 20s.
- 16% of abortions were performed on babies belonging to a mother who identifies as something other than heterosexual.
- A recent study from the Pew Research Center found that approximately 70% of Americans under the age of 30 say that abortion should be made legal in most or all situations. This is also true of about 60% of people from ages 30-49.
Some observations about abortion in America
- Conservatives in the US government were once split on the issue of abortion as the Republican Party was more libertarian-like in its views in the early days immediately following Roe v. Wade. However, the GOP became opposed to the practice after three presidents in a row (Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George HW Bush) all opposed abortion. Carter, a Democrat, immediately followed Republican Gerald Ford, a pro-choice president. Then, Reagan and Bush led the anti-abortion Republican Executive Office for 12 years. Other than Carter and Ford, every president since Roe v. Wade has (at least mostly) aligned with their respective party's majority view.
- Once the abortion rate began to fall after the initial high numbers immediately following the original court decision, the rate fell nearly every year (other than three moderate increases) until 2017. Just before that, then-President Obama issued several executive orders to protect funding for abortion clinics. Telemedicine also began to become a popular means of seeing physicians, and abortion clinics started taking advantage of the opportunity. In a non-coincidental way, abortion numbers began to rise.
What the Left says about abortion
- Modern Democrats almost universally support abortion. Many of them support the practice with little restriction.
- Liberals use sensational (and often untrue) language to attempt to appeal to emotion when discussing abortion. Following Iowa increasing its limitations, 2024 DNC Chair Jamie Harrison claimed that women "will now suffer" thanks to abortion bans. Similarly, Connecticut Democratic Party Chair Nancy DiNardo called the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade as a "death sentence for women."
- Some democrats, such as former Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, claim to oppose abortion but support its legality. In cases like Durbin's, the liberal sentiment is that freedom of "choice" is more important than one's conviction to disagree with abortion outright.
- Many liberals have altered the way they talk about unborn children so as to soften the perception of abortion. Instead of calling them children, many on the Left refer to the unborn simply as "fetuses" or "embryos." Abortion procedures have recently begun to be called "reproductive care" and/or "women's healthcare."
- The biggest democratic talking point surrounding abortion is the idea that it is a "woman's choice" with her body and no one else can speak on that choice. However, while it is undeniable that a woman's body is part of the conversation with abortion, that particular talking point completely ignores the reality that another body (the baby) is affected in a much greater way. In a sick bit of irony, many of those aborted babies are female–and, therefore, future women–who will have no ability to choose anything because someone else chose to end their lives.
What the Right says about abortion
- While some conservative politicians (including, at times, President Donald Trump) still hold to pro-choice and/or pro-state choice views, the majority of Republicans are pro-life and anti-abortion.
- Deviating from Trump's belief that states should handle abortion laws, South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham supports a federal ban. He says that abortion "is not a states' rights issue. This is a human rights issue."
- Louisiana Respresentative Danny McCormick doesn't mince words either, stating that "Abortion is murder."
- A moral responsibility to protect life is a major part of the Republican platform on abortion. Some cite Christian or other religious beliefs (more on that later), while others appeal to a different type of morality.
- One of the biggest problems within Right-leaning politics on abortion is that, while being anti-abortion is a good start to being "pro-life," many Republican politicians hold to views on other issues that don't support the protection of life after babies are born. Without considering the debate on social safety nets and other related arms of government welfare, there are several areas where conservatives struggle to remain consistently pro-life after birth. Perhaps most notably, though adoption and foster care are often verbally supported by Republicans, government funding packages championed by the Right typically are much lighter than ones from the Left. This makes adopting and fostering a more costly endeavor for families and limits the government aid available for the organizations that help care for children without families.
What the Bible says
In many political debates, Scripture is not particularly aligned with Republicans or Democrats. However, in this conversation on abortion, public conservative opinion is much more closely aligned to God's Word. Just as many claim, abortion is murder, and there is no excuse for it.
The word "abortion" is not included in either the Old Testament or the New Testament. However, there is plenty within the pages of Scripture that directly applies to one of today's most polarizing political debates. Here's what the Bible teaches that relates to abortion.
First, the Bible is very clear on when life begins.
One of the biggest incorrect assertions from those in the pro-abortion camp is that a baby isn't actually a living being until he/she is born. Scripture provides plenty of evidence to the contrary.
In explicit terms, God explains that He forms new life in the womb.
In Jeremiah 1:5, Jeremiah wrote what the Lord said when He called him to be a prophet: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."
In a nearly identical way, Isaiah says in Isaiah 49:1, "The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother He named my name."
The Psalmist (likely David) in Psalm 139:13 makes a similar point. "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
The Apostle Paul explains in Galatians 1:15 that God had "set me apart before I was born." The implication is that God's sovereign control over salvation includes making a plan for His children's justifications, even before they are born. The author of Ecclesiastes says similarly, "As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything" (Ecclesiastes 11:5).
Other passages, like Exodus 21 and Amos 1, indicate that hurting a pregnant woman is a more egregious crime than hurting someone who isn't pregnant. So, too, passages like Genesis 25 (Rebekah) and Luke 1 (Elizabeth) show life within the babies in pregnant women's wombs.
Texts like these are why early Church documents, such as The Didache, said things like, "You shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is born."
Scripture shows how much God values human life, and all children are blessings.
God made mankind in His image (Imago Dei), and in doing so, He has a special affection for the pinnacle of His creation. The Lord values human life.
Jesus said in Matthew 10:29-31, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."
In theory, this idea was one that the Founding Fathers of the United States of America based their concept of people being "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights," as it is written in the Declaration of Independence.
Children are also immense blessings. All of them.
Psalm 127:3 states, "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward."
Proverbs 17:6 even goes as far as to say that grandchildren are "a crown to the aged."
It is worth noticing that neither verse says that "convenient children" or "planned children" are blessings. Instead, every child, even one born into less-than-ideal circumstances, is extremely valuable to the Lord and should be to His people.
It is abundantly obvious that the Bible would consider abortion to be murder.
Psalm 6:16-17 shows the beginning of a list of things God finds detestable. "There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood..." There is no more innocent victim than a child not given the chance at life.
As mentioned previously, Scripturally, violent crimes against pregnant women are worse than those against non-pregnant women. This is because two lives are affected, not just one. This shows the clear emphasis God places on the sanctity of life inside the womb.
The Sixth Commandment that the Lord gives to Moses states, "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13). To terminate the life of an unborn child (even some who are "pro-choice" use the word "terminate" to describe abortion) is murder. It is the unjust ending of a precious, innocent life.
Followers of the Lord are also called to fight against this injustice of abortion. God's Word includes the command in Proverbs 24:11 that says, "Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter."
Though non-believers do not believe God's Word, the Bible is still the highest Law.
When the Lord gives Moses additional explanation on the Law throughout Exodus and Leviticus, He explicitly states (in Exodus 21 immediately following the Ten Commandments narrative) that the law should apply to outsiders and/or slaves who are not part of God's people but who are among God's people. Why? Because they live there, too, and the Law of the Lord is perfect. Remember in Romans 1:20, the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write that the lost "are without excuse" for not following the Law.
Simply put, if Christians believe in upholding the Law of God, then they must also believe in all people–believer or unbeliever–being held to that standard, too.
Because of that, the lazy excuse some Christians use of, "Well, non-believers are going to act like non-believers" is not a valid reason for the Church to avoid fighting against abortion.
With well over 60 million documented abortions performed in the United States since 1973, abortion kills more than every other classification of murder combined in this country. That should have the Church's attention.
Additional "pro-life" stances would help the conservative argument on abortion and should be considered biblical.
In addition to being anti-abortion, Christians' pro-life stances should go past birth.
As mentioned previously, many conservatives (a group that shares a fair amount of overlap with Christians) fail to properly support adoption and foster efforts, despite it being something they agree with conceptually. Believers are more likely to adopt and foster than the world around them (good!), but more can be done from a government standpoint and from the Church intentionally supporting those families who have adopted and/or fostered or who are looking to do so.
Believers should be at the forefront of helping the needy and supporting those who are vulnerable.
In another way, Christians should minister to those who have made the bad decision in the past to have an abortion. If forgiveness is possible and found freely in Christ, so too must the people of God freely give it.
To current non-believers who had abortions, the hope of the gospel must be preached. To believers who once made that decision, reminders of forgiveness and reconciliation–both to God and to the Church–are critical.
Final verdict
Abortion is a wicked practice that is, at its basic level, the murder of an unborn child. With over 60 million (documented) unborn babies murdered since the initial Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, it should be one of the biggest talking points in the Church's intersection with politics.
The Lord values all life, and He makes it clear that there is life in a mother's womb, not a mere clump of cells or something that can be explained away as a simple fetus or embryo. Children are blessings, and they are worth fighting for.
Though abortion is a grievous sin, it is not an unforgivable one. The Lord is gracious and full of mercy, and even for individuals who decided to have abortions, He can and will provide forgiveness to those who ask for it, just as He does for all who call on His name.
