From a Biblical perspective, murder precedes abortion.
Abortion is the loss or expulsion from the womb of a living foetus before it has reached the stage of viability. Many abortions occur spontaneously (miscarriages), whereas others are deliberately induced.
It is the latter which is the focal point of theological and ethical debate and I'll be using that latter definition for the rest of my post.
Certainly abortion happened in the ancient world. John Riddle, in 'Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West'provides credible documentation of abortion and how it happened in the ancient pagan world.
But contraception and abortion were not as widespread in antiquity as the feminist movement has argued. Child abandonment was actually more frequent than abortion (e.g., Quintilian Inst. Orat. 8.1.14; Juvenal Sat. 6.602–9).
Part of the reason was because ancient physicians and others disliked abortion and pagan ancients debated whether the embryo was a person just like today and therefore whether or not abortion should be legal.
The reality is that most people in the ancient Mediterranean world felt that marriage was the norm. Early Rome required Romans to marry and rear their children (though a child was not accepted into the family until the father accepted the child).
Most young women reportedly longed for marriage and tomb inscriptions underline the tragedy of dying unmarried. It was also tragic for young men to die unmarried.
From a Biblical perspective, the chief theological ground for a strict anti-abortion stance is the conviction that every human being is made in God’s image (e.g. Imago Dei) from the time of conception (cf. Gn. 1:27).
Life-taking, like life-giving, is God’s prerogative, and man needs a special mandate to end any human being’s physical existence. Permission to kill is given by Scripture in carefully defined circumstances as a response to injustice (specifically murder and war, cf. Gn. 9:6; 1 Ki. 2:5–6), but no fetus has done anything to deserve the death penalty. Abortion, therefore, can be argued to be murder.
That said, the Roman Catholic Church (which is otherwise implacably opposed to abortion) allows for a pregnancy to be terminated, under the ethical law of ‘double effect’, when a procedure intended to save the mother-to-be’s life (such as hysterectomy for cancer) results in the death of the fetus.
Secondly, some Protestant theologians argue that the fetus is a potential person, rather than an actual person. Plausible though this theory sounds, it does not easily square with the Bible’s stress on personhood and human continuum.
Thirdly, and most radically, Christian situationists contend that love alone must dictate the decision whether or not to abort in a particular case. Compassion for the woman (if her life or health is threatened) or for the unborn child (if he or she is likely to be born deformed or defective) may dictate the ending of a pregnancy. Furthermore, they argue, because love must always choose the maximum benefit for the greatest number, abortion may be indicated when the baby is unwanted by the family, by society—or, for that matter, by an overcrowded world.
The problem with this view is that nowhere does the Bible teach that love replaces divine principle or overrides divine law. Nor does the Bible support their utilitarian assumption that the best actions can be calculated by counting heads.
The Bible does not specifically mention the word abortion, but it teaches that the unborn are persons and that abortion is wrong because it is killing an innocent human being (e.g. murder).
Just for the record... abortion has existed since the beginning of humanity. In the time that the bible was being written it was rife and yet nothing was specifically said. I find this interesting.
I also find it interesting that you seem to think the morning after pill is the same thing. It really isn't. I know many wise people totally committed to Jesus who are absolutely pro-choice.
I personally think that the refusal to see other points of view will be peoples downfall. I wonder if people have bothered to actually think about it or have simply decided to form opinions based on what they think others feel they should think.
And lastly I personally don't agree with abortion as a contraceptive, I also do not agree with the morning after pill as a contraceptive however I do believe people have the RIGHT to use their God-given free will and decide what is best for their situation.
I have been genuinely shocked by how unbending and judgmental people on this site are. Jesus said to become all things to all men in the hope of saving some. Where is that? All the people here want to do is boast about how good they are and condemn everyone else. That's not a good christian and it is not in the spirit of Jesus. Oh yeh, its all done sweetly with may God bless you but at the end of the day its not really coming from a good place. You can't see yourself as above people, you are not in heaven yet.
