GOD DEFINES THE BEGINNING OF LIFE AND ENTRY OF THE SOUL INTO A NEWBORN
Genesis 2:7 King James Version (KJV)
7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
GOD COMMANDS ABORTION OF AN ADULTEROUS FETUS:
Numbers 5:11-22 King James Version (KJV)
11 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
12 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,
13 And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiledβ¦
21 Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The Lord make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the Lord doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell;
22 And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.
GOD DECREESS THE PENALTY FOR CAUSING MISCARRAIGE - FINE ONLY AS JUDGE/HUSBAND DETERMINE - NOT MURDER
Exodus 21:22 King James Version (KJV)
22 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
NOTE - pro -lifers cite this very same scripture for the opposite position - most scholars support the traditional and long established conclusion noted above - however, some do argue aganst this - their conclusions are questions - but see this article for full discussion:
https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1992/09/the-fetus-in-biblical-law
JESUS DID NOT ALTER THESE LAWS (THOUGH SOME - KOSHER LAWS AND SACRIFICE WERE MADE OBSOLETE BY JESUS)
Matthew 5:17 King James Version (KJV)
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Here is a link to an essay why the Bible does not prohibut abortion: http://www.prochoiceactionnetwork-canada.org/articles/bible.shtml
OK so now here are Pro lifers arguments for their position - rebuttal
Fetus are called "babies" in scripture:
βThe babies jostled each other within her.β (Genesis 25:22)
Sorry but this is just a misleading translation - in Hebrew the word "baby" comes from the root word that means "nursing." Furthermore this verse symbolizes (or prophecizes) the future conflict between the two lines of Isaac (hebrew) and Esau (arab) resulting from the battle over Isaac's birthrights. it is not intended to be read literally.
And here - "As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.(Luke 1:41) - Again this is clearly not intended to be read literally - the "baby" (translation misleading) did not leap - it is just a honor and manner of saying that your child (Mary) will be greater than mine (Elizabeth) And that was certainly true.
However, the most quoted scripture in support of the the pro life position is Jeremiah, which refers to God knowing and honoring the fruits of his mother's womb:
βBefore I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.β (Jeremiah 1:5)
Of course this says nothing at all about when life begins or abortion - it only makes clear that God knew the future and fate of that Prophet BEFORE he even was formed in the womb - not after.
And this Psalm:
For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my motherβs wombβ¦Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:13,16) Again this only states that Gos knows all and creates all - it says nothing about when life begins or abortion.
Same case for these scriptures:
This is what the Lord saysβHe who made you, who formed you in the womb. (Isaiah 44:2)
βDid not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One form us both within our mothers?β (Job 31:15)
And of course the Ten Commandments - "thous shall not murder" is the correct translation but pro- lifers say "Thou shalt not kill" = clearly wrong since killing is condoned in the bible in war, for pusnishment, in self defense etc and is NOT murder.
BOTTOM LINE FOR PRO LIFERS AS STATED BY THE CHURCH - READ CAREFULLY:
Full Question
My friend contends that the Bible can't be used to argue against abortion because nowhere in the Bible does it state that abortion is wrong and that life begins at conception. How do I respond?
Answer
Though we donβt find the word abortion mentioned in any biblical text, we can deduce from Scripture, not to mention natural law, reason, Church teaching, and patristic witness that abortion is intrinsically evil.
TRANSLATION - TRUST THE CHURCH FATHERS WHO CAN "DEDUCE" THAT ABORTION IS EVIL